WAIMEA — Parker School’s debate team is participating in a round robin tournament debating tourism’s ability to preserve culture at the Global Tourism Summit in Honolulu today. They were invited by the Hawaii Tourism Authority as a highlight of the opening day’s events.
The three-day summit at the Hawaii Convention Center continues through Thursday, and will feature 18 debate teams from all around the world. Ten of the teams are traveling from China, Taiwan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Canada and the U. S. mainland, while the other eight teams are from Hawaii.
Hawaii teams include three from Parker School, one from Hilo High School and two teams each from Oahu’s Kamehameha and Home School League schools. Dr. Carl Sturges, Parker School’s headmaster and debate coach, was especially proud that four of the eight Hawaii schools taking part in the tournament are from the Big Island.
“Hilo High is a sister team for us, and we scheduled practice rounds between our teams to tune up for this exciting and challenging competition,” he said. “HTA always comes up with really interesting topics to debate and this year is no exception.”
This Global Tourism Summit debate tournament gives students a chance to express their views on perpetuating sustainable tourism, interact with other cultures and spark their interest to be future leaders, making tourism better both in Hawaii and internationally.