Bishop Lavis High School learners win national tourism competition
17 November 2022
Two Grade 11 learners from Bishop Lavis High School will be jetting off to London, England where they will represent South Africa at the annual International Global Travel and Tourism Partnership (GTTP) Tourism Teacher and Student Conference from 4 to 7 December 2022.
The GTTP, with 17 member countries across the world, runs an annual international tourism research competition. All member countries research the same topic and the winners of each country travel to London to present their research findings.
Maxs Norman (18) and Conway Bailey (17), supported by their Tourism teacher, Karin Nandoo, did research on the international topic ‘Responsible Tourism Post-COVID-19’, by looking into how Intaka Island at Century City, has dealt with COVID-19 and the ways in which tourism has been reshaped as a result.
Intaka Island (meaning “bird island) is the nature area that lies in the heart of Century City. Its unique location offers environmentally consciousness and innovative systems that are in place to keep the island in a constant state of operating in a responsible and sustainable manner.
The learners described the island as one of the most beautiful combinations of a natural and man-made island that offers a ‘Venice in Cape Town’ experience to tourists. They decided to aptly name their research ‘Venice in Cape Town’.
Their research concluded that for many in the tourism sector, the pandemic posed a major threat in terms of livelihood activities of staff, however, the Island was able to retain jobs for all 112 of its employees whilst operating responsibly.
Western Cape Minister of Education, David Maynier, congratulated the learners and wished them all the best for the international conference. He said: “It is wonderful to see our learners contributing to the discussion about how tourism has been affected by the pandemic, especially given the important role it plays in our provincial economy.”
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, honoured the two boys and their teacher when handing over their prize during the opening ceremony of the 13th National Tourism Careers Expo held at Johannesburg Expo Centre, Nasrec from 30 September to 2 October 2022. He said the tourism sector needs young, innovative, critical thinkers to take the sector forward.
The learners will present their research findings in London. In addition to the conference experience, their visit to London will include a treasure hunt, some free time to explore London and a prestigious gala evening with GTTP’s global partners. This will be their first trip abroad and the excitement is running high!
