( l - r ) Yendi Phillipps, Edmund Bartlett

Following Yendi Phillipps' second-place achievement at the Miss Universe Pageant at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas on Monday night, Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett applauded the efforts of the beauty queen, saying: "Yendi's elegant beauty, eloquence and confidence had catapulted her into getting the highest ever finish by Jamaica in the Miss Universe pageants."

In a release to THE STAR, Bartlett further commended the queen by saying Phillipps is a "true ambassador for Jamaica and represents among the best in what young women and girls in Jamaica should look up to as a role model."

It is alleged the minister has high hopes of Jamaica hosting the 2012 Miss Universe pageant but this he says isn't concrete but the ministry and the pageant organisers are currently in touch regarding the possibilities of hosting the 2012 extravaganza.

Bartlett said: "It is something we definitely want to look at but more 2012 and not 2011. I would definitely need time to sort out my convention centre and so on. There is no official word just now so after further talks from the meetings in New York then I will engage the media," he ended.

In an interview with THE STAR, the minister was in high spirits as he spoke about the tremendous accolades of Yendi Phillipps on an international scale and how much good it will do for the country.

Phillipps has now returned home where she is scheduled to attend a press conference with the Prime Minister and other dignitaries.