A TOURISM and hospitality student from Harlech has been named the overall winner of the Next Tourism Generation competition.

Jenna O’Brien, who studies at Coleg Menai, also picked up the Digital Tools and Technology award.

The Next Tourism Generation competition invited young people with aspirations to work in tourism to come forward with their ideas for the future of the industry in Wales.

The winners were announced by BBC presenter Huw Stephens at the NTG 2021 virtual awards ceremony and skills symposium.

The competition was open to tourism and hospitality students, aged 16 to 25, working in the tourism sector including those furloughed and made redundant during the coronavirus pandemic.

The event was attended by tourism and hospitality students and tourism industry leaders from across Wales.

The Next Tourism Generation (NTG) project based at Cardiff Met aims to improve collaboration between tourism industry and education and provide resources to address sustainability and digital skills gaps in Wales.

The competition, which is in its second year, was organised by the NTG team at Cardiff Metropolitan University with PLANED and Tourism Society Cymru.

Tourism industry leaders judged competition entries from students, including those attending Bridgend College, Cardiff and Vale College, Cardiff Metropolitan University, the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai and Pembrokeshire College.

The four categories at the awards were tourism industry and infrastructure, digital tools and technology category, the environment and ecology category and the award for local communities.

Entrants were asked to select one of the four award categories and respond to the questions ‘What should the future of tourism in Wales look like?’ and ‘What skills and training will the next generation of tourism professionals need to support this sustainable development?’

The winner of each of the four categories won £250.

Jo Quinney, from RibRide and who was the digital tools and technology judge, said she believed Jenna had a “great understanding” of the current issues within the tourism industry.

She said: ‘’I was extremely impressed by Jenna’s presentation.

“She has a great understanding of the current stresses and strains within the tourism industry.

“The training need was clearly explained and she made a very good case for upskilling the Welsh workforce.

Jo added: “I especially liked the fact that she thought that tourism courses need to be rewritten to include new, relevant units and modules.

“I hope her ideas are heard and that changes can be made.”