Mister and Miss Tourism Jamaica set to promote the Ja brand

Western Office:

Jamaica’s hospitality industry recently received two additional ambassadors following the crowning of Mister and Miss Tourism Jamaica 2014, Darren Bennett and Jolon Dewar.

Both were crowned at the grand finale of the third edition of the NYRC Tourism Grand Finale held recently at the Half Moon Conference Centre.

Bennett, a 24-year-old science teacher at Little London High School in Westmoreland, and Dewar, who is attending college in South Korea, will both share scholarships for their future education, cash prizes of $100,000 each, plus trophies, gift baskets, certificates and other prizes.

Runners-up Omar Lewis and Alyiah Harwood also took home certificates, gift baskets and other prizes. The other two runners-up were Khalil Wright and Thianna Graham.

Meanwhile, both winners are eager to promote the Jamaica brand.

Dewar, who is interning at Sangster International Airport in the tourist resort of Montego Bay, said she was ready to promote the Jamaica brand.

“I am interested in tourism because I am a tourist in another country myself, so I want to improve our tourism sector. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge. I love learning about people’s cultures and I love to educate myself and improve myself. So I am looking forward to a new experience that will allow me to grow and learn something new that I can bring back to Jamaica,” said the new Miss Tourism Jamaica.

She adds that as a natural ambassador for the brand, she is confident that Jamaica will benefit immensely from her victory.

“In (South) Korea, I told people about Jamaica and they have already come here to see me,” she added.

For Bennett, the Little London High School science teacher shared that he was also eager to start promoting the country’s tourism product.

“I am delighted. This is really a new experience for me and I can say that I feel accomplished. I am very happy with the outcome of the competition and I look forward, as Mr. Tourism, to doing my best to represent Jamaica,” he said.

Welcoming the two new tourism “ambassadors”, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett praised the competition’s promoters.

“We support a lot of private sector initiatives (that continue) to help (the industry) connect with (others)… we encourage a lot more people, especially young people (to get involved),” he said.

While Bennett and Dewar took the lion’s share of the section prizes, the identities of the eventual winners were indelibly written on the wall.

They both won the People’s Choice Award, the Best Tourism Speaker Award and the Best Evening Wear Award. They also stood out in their respective categories in the talent section, with Bennett wowing the audience with his rendition of the Bob Marley song Song of Redemptionwhile Dewar, who demonstrated his DJ prowess, enthused the crowd with crowd-pleasing selections.

Meanwhile, Omar Lewis and Alyiah Harwood were winners in the Best Physique category.

Only 30 percent of the judging results were determined on the night of the grand finale. The remaining 70 percent were judged before the show.

All six finalists, who were asked to answer the same question: “How can individual travelers make their travels more sustainable?”, gave a good description of themselves.

Both Bennett and Dewar attributed the end result to their hard work.

“It was extremely difficult. I thought the glitz was a walk in the park. I thought you just bought a costume and walked across the stage, but it actually has its complexities. But it’s manageable if you’re determined,” Bennett said.

Dewar agreed.

“It’s surreal and ecstatic. I feel like if you work hard for your dreams, you can achieve them because I work really hard day and night. It was very competitive, but in the end I persevered and won, so I feel really good,” Dewar said.

As the grand finale progressed, both of them became more and more convinced that they would come out on top.

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