(left to right) Steven Vella receiving his prize, Karl Grech and Frank Farrugia – Malta Tourism Authority, Steven Gauci - Airmalta, Petra Ellul Mercer - Corinthia Hotels International, Ritienne Buhagiar – Sir Temi Zammit School in Mtarfa© 2008 MTA - Jurgen Scicluna

The Malta Tourism Authority awards secondary school students

The CHOICE programme, organised by the Industry Human Resources Development Unit within the MTA in collaboration with the Institute of Tourism Studies and the Tourism Studies Association, this year involved over 6,000 secondary school students. This programme targets students in all secondary schools, and it aims to raise students’ awareness about the tourism industry and tourism related career opportunities.

To date, this programme has reached over 16,000 students. Even though this programme is not compulsory, this year an encouraging total of 40 out of 60 schools chose to hold the CHOICE Programme at their premises, while 48 chose to participate in the CHOICE Programme held at ITS. This year’s edition of the CHOICE Programme closed with the awarding of prizes and certificates to those students who participated in the CHOICE project competition.

A Form 4 student from the Sir Temi Zammit School in Mtarfa, Steven Vella, won the first prize an educational trip to the Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest sponsored by Corinthia Hotels and Air Malta. His project, called LIVE MGARR – feast your senses! – was chosen as the best by all three judges. Mr Vella envisaged a full-day festival at his town, with different events like bread-making and honey tasting, classic car rallies and entertainment, and meticulously worked through all the details, including posters for each event. He mapped out a Treasure Hunt – complete with engraved prize – and designed DVD covers and CDs as mementos. The young man, worked with his teacher Ritienne Buhagiar, preparing a three-language brochure, formal invitations for five-star hotels, and even printed ballpoint pens and handpainted glassware to give out or sell as souvenirs. Mr Vella also got a DJ friend to prepare a short radio advert.

“We were most impressed by the initiative shown by this teenager. He used every type of medium available. He also roped in people in the village, borrowing flags from the council offices, and preparing a lavish stand covered in local produce. Although the idea of a festival is not in itself new his approach towards the interactivity of the day was very fresh,” the judges said.

The second prize, a weekend break at the Corinthia Hotel St. George’s Bay, Malta, also sponsored by Corinthia Hotels, was awarded to Mattea Galea, Lydia Grixti and Sephora Santucci from the Convent of the Sacred Heart for the project entitled The Maltese Archipelago – As Sweet As Honey. Whilst the third prize, consisting of a set of books on Malta, was awarded to Francesca Cachia Zammit, Theresa Fenech and Jessica Millo from St. Dorothy’s Convent School for the project named Stepping Stones Through Malta’s History.

The projects were assessed by a panel of judges made up of Ms Vanessa Macdonald (www.di-ve.com), Mr Robert Cilia (education department), and Ms Graziella Cortis (tourism university student).

The CHOICE Programme is organised in collaboration with various hotels, restaurants and travel agencies in Malta & Gozo, and will be organized again during the next scholastic year.

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For more information on the programme, please contact the Industry HR Development Unit on:
Telephone no.: 2291 5122 / 4
Email choice@visitmalta.com