CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (October 4, 2010) — September 27th was dubbed “World Tourism Day” by the United Nations and the Ministry of Tourism on Nevis sought to create awareness among primary and secondary school students.

As part of the awareness initiative, the Ministry assigned persons to the various schools where they facilitated talks on the importance of tourism and biodiversity.

In a televised interview with the Department of Information, Tourism Officer Ms. Vanessa Webbe said the in-school sessions were “very interactive, informative and well received by the students.”

“All the speakers encouraged the children to see the importance of preserving our natural environment and the importance of conserving and doing simple things. Basically we were encouraging the students to help beautify Nevis, to help preserve the island letting them see how important it is that we take care of our natural environment,” Webbe said.

While highlighting some of the island’s tourist attractions, Webbe said this year’s theme, tourism and biodiversity, was of particular importance to Nevis as an island that places emphasis on its tourism product.

“Our tourism product depends so heavily on our biodiversity. As a small island, we know tourism is our main industry and we promote our natural wealth to our visitors.

“Basically, we promote our natural scenery and we wanted our students to understand the important correlation between tourism and biodiversity,” she said.

The Ministry of Tourism, according to Webbe, continues to play a vital role in promoting sustainable tourism development on Nevis.