By Shanique Richards
St. Kitts Reporter
Randolph Hamilton, Product Development & Cruise Manager of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, recently returned home from Sheffield Hallam University in England from which he graduated with a Masters degree in International Tourism Management and expects to make a greater contribution to this federation.
He also won the Sir Basil Blackwell Award for Excellence in his field of study and was the student representative for all international students on the course. Consequently he will be featured in the university’s marketing literature and on their website www.shu.ac.uk. A media release states that Randolph’s dissertation enclosed valuable information for tourism and climate change in the Federation. This document was entitled Is Climate Change a threat or an Opportunity for Tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis?
The course explored several areas including Tourism Policy and Planning Organization Environment, Tourism Development Studies, Critical Thinking, Globalisation and Tourism, International Marketing, Destination Marketing and Applied Management (Consultancy).
Hamilton has returned to the Federation with a new outlook on his profession, telling The Observer that the course has changed his perception of tourism and now enables him to speak the tourism language on all levels.
“It has given me tremendous confidence in terms of taking on new things in terms of strategizing, managing and implementing. As I am responsible for enhancing products or developing new ones to attract consumers or tourist to this destination, this course has also provided me with the necessary skills, knowledge and qualifications to do so. I believe that in any industry persons must be able to speak the language and this has permitted me to speak the global language of tourism and to represent my country on national, regional and international levels,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton also gave brief remarks as to what encouraged him to embark on such a journey.
“I envisage tremendous positive changes taking place in the tourism sector in St. Kitts & Nevis. With this in mind, I wanted to position myself strategically to embrace these changes and not resist them. The International Tourism Management Masters degree empowers me with the necessary knowledge and qualification to compliment the ten years experience working for the Ministry of Tourism/St. Kitts Tourism Authority and ensures that I can represent St. Kitts & Nevis at the highest level in the regional and international tourism marketplace.”
