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After a hotly contested finals of the Jamaica Tourism Board (JTB) Junior Tourism Minister Competition, another Manning School student from Westmoreland has emerged as the 2024 champion.
The annual oratory competition is open to pupils aged 15 to 17 who are members of their school’s Travel Action Club (TAC).
The Melbourne High School student, Taj from Westmoreland School, beat classmate Hassan Smith to take the title.
The new junior minister will represent Jamaica in September at this year’s Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Regional Youth Conference in the Cayman Islands.
After the final of the competition, which was held on July 23 at Ocho Rios Beach in Boscobel, St. Mary, Yantaj told JIS News that his school’s third consecutive win was thanks to the school’s hard work and not just “recruiting kids and sending them out.”
“We’re committed to building a product that is the result of excellence through heritage,” he said.
He also thanked past winners, Manning School student Sanecia Taylor and last year’s junior minister Deja Bremmer, for paving the way for the school to do well in the competition.
“I believe the support from our administration and school community also played a role in getting us to where we are today,” Taj said.
Regarding his victory, Taj admitted that he did not expect to win at first.
“In the beginning, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in winning, but after going through this process, I started to gain confidence from the people around me, especially my teammates, my (TAC) staff counselor (Shalia Lewis) and my mom. They are really my support system,” Taj said.
He suggested that more initiatives like the Youth Tourism Minister competition should be launched to attract young people on the island.
“Especially men like myself, we find ourselves not being seen as leaders or builders in the industry, but I want to change that narrative… Women can do it, sure, but we can do it too,” he said.
Taj also said he intends to represent the island well and build connections at the upcoming CTO conference.
The young Deja said she is proud to pass the torch to her classmates.
“He came out victorious in the end and I can say that all the practice, all the training and all the support paid off and I have every confidence in his ability to represent Jamaica well in the Cayman Islands,” she said.
Deja also encouraged Taj to never stop researching because the field is vast and “you can never know too much about it, so the more he knows, the more knowledge he has to answer questions”.
Meanwhile, Ms Lewis told JIS News she was “very happy” that Manning School had won again in the competition.
“I really want to continue, maybe next year; who knows, we might have a fourth (junior tourism minister in Manning’s place). I just encourage teachers to love their students, to encourage them to have vision. Feed them with knowledge, feed them with love. We need to do everything we can to make Jamaica better,” she said.
She also pointed out that another secret to the school’s success is discovering students’ talents and nurturing them.
Ms Lewis encouraged students across the island to join their school’s TAC as it offers multiple benefits.
Lucretia Green, acting manager of the JTB Tourist Information Centre, told JIS News that the school TAC is the brainchild of the tourism bureau and is the main channel for the bureau to reach out to young people.
“We are very proud to appoint Taj Melbourne as the new Deputy Minister of Tourism. We are proud because he is a product of TAC, which is the brainchild of JTB, and our idea and mission is to engage young Jamaicans and give them access to the industry,” she said.
“Taj will be coming to the Cayman Islands in a few weeks and we will see his talent and excellence and we are sure he will do well, not only for himself but also for Jamaica because we are a force to be reckoned with,” Ms Green stressed.
The theme of the competition is “Little Jamaicans Making Big Contributions.”
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