All grade 6 students at the primary level on the island are currently engaged in exciting excursions and tourist experiences as part of the 2015 Hello Tourist program. To date, students have successfully completed the components of the tourism education awareness program which is taught in conjunction with the yearly Social Studies syllabus. The program is funded by the Anguilla Tourist Board as part of its Tourism Awareness outreach, and is a collaborative effort of the Anguilla Tourist Board, The Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association and the Education Department. The Hello Tourist program seeks to bring about a heightened awareness as regards the importance of tourism to the island. The program consists of three main components, namely Theory (which is taught throughout the school year as part of the Social Studies curriculum); Individual projects whereby students are required to individually create a souvenir-like item that a tourist may want to purchase; and as a final component, a group project where all the students of each school are responsible for a beautification project in their school or the nearby surroundings that would help to enhance the area and as a result help to instill a sense of pride and patriotism in the students. These projects are being judged and the winners will be announced at a closing awards ceremony held at the Anguilla Tourist Board Lawn on July 8. This is the fourth year the program is occurring since it was re-introduced in 2011.
“We have a number of partners who are working with us to ensure that the experiences are well worth the smiling faces of both parents and students who are currently being rewarded with overnight stays at several properties,” remarked Project Coordinator, Twyla Richardson-Thomas. “These include: Morris Vanterpool at Carimar Beach Club; Central Christian School at Anacaona Boutique Hotel; Valley Primary at Cuisinart Golf Resort & Spa; Omololu International School at Paradise Cove; Vivien Vanterpool at Spyglass Hill; Adrian T. Hazell at Anguilla Great House; Orealia Kelly at Cap Juluca Hotel; and Alwyn Allison at Viceroy.”
In addition to overnight stays at these properties, students are fully engaged in dinner and lunch experiences at several restaurants including Veya, Straw Hat, Tasty’s, Da’Vida’s Smokey’s, Falcon’s Nest and The Restaurant at Malliouhana, as well as island tours with stops at heritage/historic sites guided by the Anguilla National Trust and Oliver Hodge. Taxi services are being provided by Bennie’s Travel & Tours and Hughes Travel Services.
The program continues to create much excitement and interest in the tourism sector and is one of the Anguilla Tourist Board’s local tourism awareness initiatives that is supported and sustained through community involvement of services across the tourism sector.
