Information courtesy of the Nevis

Government Information Service

(Charlestown, Nevis) - The Nevis Ministry of Tourism announced on Sept. 9 Ms. Kerese Elliot, 11, of the Charlestown Primary School placed third overall in the Caribbean for the junior division of the 2008 Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Foundation Children’s Essay Contest.

Ms. Elliot tied for third place with students from Antigua and Dominica. According to the FCCA, similar skills were shown in many of the essays which led to the selection of ties for second and third places for the first time in the history of the competition.

As the third place winner in her age group, Ms. Elliot will be awarded a cash scholarship of US $1000. The CPS will also receive a monetary award of US$1000.

Meantime, 15-year old Serena Clarke of the Charlestown Secondary School, Nevis’ finalist in the senior division of the contest, will be rewarded with a cash prize of US $200.

Thursday Online Code for Issue # 724 is CES

Every year, the FCCA invites students in FCCA partner destinations in the Caribbean to participate in the FCCA Foundation Children’s Essay Contest. The objective of the contest is to promote cruise tourism awareness among the youth.

This year’s topic was “What steps can we take as a destination to make cruise passengers feel more welcome while in port?”

The overall top winners came from Trinidad and Tobago in the junior category and Jamaica in the senior category.

Below is the essay written by Ms. Elliot:

Dear Minister of Tourism,

I drifted off to sleep amidst the rustling of the wind and the croaking of the tree frogs. Soon I was at a podium addressing a large audience. My party, Partnership for Improvement and Change, (PIC) had won the election and I was made Minister of Tourism. I heard myself asking the question,” What steps can we take as a cruise destination to make cruise passengers feel more welcome while in port?” The audience had many ideas. Suddenly I realized that I was dreaming. However, please allow me to share these ideas with you.

Firstly, cruise passengers should feel welcome when they visit our island. Therefore, a D.V.D with short welcome remarks by the Minister of Tourism should be played on the cruise ship as the ship is about to come into port. Moreover, when the cruise passengers get into port, live cultural music should be played and masquerades and clowns should perform and welcome them. Persons from the Ministry of Tourism should also greet the cruise passengers and give them flyers with information about things to do and places to visit on the island.

Moreover, there should be a large banner with the words, “Welcome to your home away from home, do come again” in different languages at the entrance of the port. In addition, when cruise passengers visit, large flags of different islands should be flown.

When the cruise passengers see their island’s flags, they will feel more welcome. They will feel that the day was planned especially for them. A take away cocktail of local foods should also be served to the cruise passengers when they arrive. This will give them a taste of our local cuisine. In addition, special cruise passengers discount cards should be given to the passengers on arrival, so that they can shop at discounted prices.

Furthermore, there should be information booths set up around town. These booths should have persons who could give important information and any help that the cruise passengers may need.

Road maps and historical maps should also be given to the passengers in order to help them find different places. Business places, taxis and places of interest should be decorated and have a welcome signs when cruise passengers visit the island.

These steps will surely make the cruise passengers feel welcome and appreciate while on the island. They may feel so comfortable and so please with the royal treatment they receive that they may want to return. They may even tell their friends and relatives about the unique experience they had while visiting a small island in the Caribbean and encourage them to visit too.

Tourism is very important to our island. Minister of Tourism, let us take these steps and improve our tourism industry. Let us work together to make cruise passengers feel welcome by giving them an experience of a lifetime when they visit our friendly and beautiful island.

Yours truly

Dreamer