Competition Seeks Sustainable Solutions for the Future of Welsh Tourism

The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project based at Cardiff Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Tourism Society Cymru and PLANED, is giving tourism and hospitality students, 16–25-year-olds working in the tourism sector including those furloughed and made redundant during the Covid pandemic, a chance to win £250.

Entrants must pitch their best ideas on ‘’What the future of tourism and hospitality in Wales should look like, and identify which skills and knowledge are required to deliver sustainable tourism development within Wales.’’

There are four award categories, all entrants should make reference to the category in their digital pitch and 250-word summary. All entrants must provide a pitch in a digital format: a video, a PowerPoint presentation, a website, app or via another digital format, as well as complete a 250-word summary with supplementary information in English or Welsh.

The 4 award categories are:
1. Tourism industry and infrastructure sponsored by Tourism Society Cymru
2. Digital tools and technology sponsored by M-SParc
3. Environment and ecology sponsored by Bluestone
4. Local communities sponsor TBC

There will be winners for the four sponsored categories and an overall winner. The competition judges are leading experts in eco-tourism, community development, digital marketing and tourism in Wales, and all entries will receive individual feedback. Winners will also be given the chance to attend an award ceremony and a tourism skills symposium with leading Welsh tourism employers.

The competition deadline: April 30th 2021.

Further details, including full terms and conditions and the entry form can be found here:
https://nexttourismgeneration.eu/event/ntgwales2021/
https://nexttourismgeneration.eu/event/ntg2021-cymraeg/

This is the 2nd Next Tourism Generation Competition in Wales. The overall winner in 2020 was Evan Davies, an aspirational Chef from Pembrokeshire College. Evan underlined that, “This competition was a great opportunity to aid in my personal growth and further my career in hospitality. It is vital to develop and nurture careers in hospitality as learning a new trade can broaden horizons.”

Another 2020 winner, Jenna O’Brien from Coleg Menai, Bangor, highlighted that, “This competition has given me the opportunity to express my passion and enthusiasm for the preservation of the environment,culture and language of my area, as well as helping me realise what area of sustainable tourism I would like to pursue.”

The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project Next Tourism Generation Alliance (NTG) is the first European partnership and alliance for improving a collaborative and productive relationship between education and industry. The NTG Alliance will provide employees, employers, entrepreneurs, teachers, trainers and students with a set of core NTG modules in digital, green and social skills.

The Cardiff Metropolitan University NTG team has led research in Wales, and with 14 European partners the NTG Alliance has evidenced demand for better collaboration between education, training providers and industry, and a need to address digital and sustainability skills gaps in the tourism and hospitality industry. This upskilling is more important than ever to help ensure a resilient recovery from the Covid pandemic. Therefore, the aim of the competition is to bring students, young professionals and leading
industry representatives together to help create a positive future, identify best practice in learning and celebrate career pathways in the industry.

Iwan Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of PLANED, underscored that, “while the competition will culminate with a fantastic virtual expert industry-led mentoring symposium for participants as well as an awards ceremony, the competition for PLANED, underpins the role of the sector in communities across Wales. The inter-dependence of businesses within the sector, and the wider socio-economic impact they have on communities across our rural and coastal communities particularly, cannot be underestimated.’’

John Walsh-Heron, Chair of Tourism Society Cymru highlighted that, ‘’this competition supports our goals in Wales to bring tourism sectors together to network and develop best practice, support learning and encourage understanding of sustainable tourism. Young people 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.’’

The partners hope the competition draws entries from across Wales and gives a platform for young people to share innovative ideas. Louise Dixey, NTG Wales Project Development Coordinator at Cardiff Metropolitan University emphasised that, “this competition shines a light on young people and their aspirations to deliver positive visions of the future of tourism and hospitality in Wales. It gives entrants an opportunity to showcase their ideas and skills needed for future careers and for the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”