Tourism Society Cymru and NTG launch an inaugural student competition in Wales

The Tourism Society Cymru in partnership with the Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project based at Cardiff Metropolitan University is inviting students from colleges and universities across Wales to pitch their best experiences of industry engagement, digital innovation and sustainable tourism.

Research undertaken in 2019 by the NTG project showed a need for better collaboration between industry and education. Also, a need to address digital and sustainability skills gaps in the tourism industry. The aim of this competition is to bring together students and leading industry representatives to identify best practice in learning.

All students enrolled on further and higher education courses that have a component relating to tourism and travel, hospitality, events, heritage, and food and beverage can pitch their knowledge, skills and innovative ideas for future careers to industry judges.

On launching the competition, John Walsh-Heron, Chair of Tourism Society Cymru said: “This competition supports our goals in Wales to bring tourism sectors together to network and develop best practice, support academic development and encourage understanding of sustainable tourism. Students today have a unique view of the world around them and can be innovative in their future careers demonstrating new ways we can open up our hospitality offer.”

Dr Sheena Carlisle, Project Manager of the NTG Project in Wales said: “I’m delighted that this competition gives students an opportunity to showcase their inspiration for future careers. Entering is easy and we encourage all eligible students to take part.”

The competition will culminate in an awards ceremony on 25^th March 2020 at Cardiff Met with industry and education representatives. There will be six winners for three sponsored categories and an overall winner.

Bluestone National Park Resort Ltd. in Pembrokeshire is sponsoring the sustainable tourism award category. Marten Lewis, Head of Corporate Responsibility, said: “Sustainability is incredibly important to Bluestone. We are passionate about empowering future leaders in Hospitality and Tourism to embrace the potential the industry has to support Sustainable Development. We are delighted to support the NTG Student Competition. We are really excited to see some of the fantastic entrants put forward”.

An application entry form, guidelines and the judging criteria can be found here.

For further information, please contact: HLJones@cardiffmet.ac.uk

Notes to Editor:

• The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project is an Alliance funded by the European Commission that aims to increase collaboration between industry and education, prioritise digital and sustainability skills gaps, and enhance the image of careers in tourism and hospitality. The NTG project partner in Wales is Cardiff Metropolitan University.
• The Tourism Society Cymru is the professional membership body for people working in all sectors of the visitor economy in Wales. The Society meets for discussion, to share knowledge, network and organise events.

 

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* This post was originally published on https://ntgwales.com/ntg2020pressrelease/