Webinar: Introducing the Tourism Skills Strategy and Action Plan: building skills in tourism through collaboration

In our final webinar, we zoom out to the bigger picture with the PANTOUR Skills Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2036). PANTOUR’s masterpiece. Next to that we will discuss the long term roll-out and sustainability of project outputs and the impact of National and Regional Skills Partnerships (NRSPs). These collaborative platforms, bringing together industry, education, and public authorities, have proven to be vital engines for skills intelligence and workforce development. Now, as the project enters its final phase, the critical question is: what happens next? How can we ensure these valuable ecosystems of collaboration continue to thrive and deliver value long after the project funding ends? 

Over the past four years, the PANTOUR project has championed a powerful solution to the European tourism sector’s persistent skills gap: National and Regional Skills Partnerships (NRSPs). These collaborative platforms, bringing together industry, education, and public authorities, have proven to be vital engines for skills intelligence and workforce development. Now, as the project enters its final phase, the critical question is: what happens next? How can we ensure these valuable ecosystems of collaboration continue to thrive and deliver value long after the project funding ends? 

 

This question is the central focus of our work in the report on the NRSP model and the long term roll-out and sustainability of project outputs, which has not only overseen the establishment and monitoring of twelve diverse NRSPs across Europe but has also developed a clear framework for their long-term sustainability. The legacy of PANTOUR is a living network and a replicable model for building a more resilient and competitive tourism sector. 

 

Together with you and our speakers, we will explore how Europe’s tourism sector can move forward together through skills development, digital and green transformation, inclusion, and stronger collaboration between education, industry, and policy.

The plan proposes 45 actions and you will get a glimpse of it during this final webinar. This session marks the official presentation of the project’s final strategic outcomes. Don’t miss out!

 

The program

16:00 Opening and welcome

16:05 Keynote Fernanda Rabelo, lead Tourism Skills Strategy and Action Plan PANTOUR (TU Dublin)

16:15 Best practice Tour-X/DEHOGA Brandenburg

16:25 Best practice Chef & Gastro

16:35 Keynote Silvia Enea, lead National and Regional Skills Partnerships PANTOUR (Federturismo Confindustria)

16:45 Emerging National Skills Partnership Moldova

16:55 Ana Maria Camps, lead projectmanagement PANTOUR (CEHAT)

17:05 Q&A Session

17:25 Closing

 

The details

Date: 4 June 2026

Time: 16:00 – 17:30 CET

Location: Online on Zoom. Participants will receive the link days prior to the event.

Registration

Register here for the final PANTOUR webinar about the European Tourism Skills Strategy and Action Plan

 

Speakers

Fernanda Rabelo

Fernanda Rabelo is a Senior Researcher at the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology at Technological University Dublin, where she leads a team and work package for the Pact for the Next Tourism Generation Alliance (PANTOUR). She brings over 15 years of experience as a researcher and lecturer across higher education institutions in Brazil, Ireland, and the United States. Her work has recently focused on advancing skills development, promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion, and mentoring initiatives within the tourism and hospitality sector.

 

Zhelyazko Karakashev

Zhelyazko Karakashev is a hospitality and tourism expert with more than three decades of international experience in hotel management, gastronomy, and tourism development. A graduate of the renowned Belvoirpark Hotel Management School in Zurich, with further specialization at Mövenpick Zurich and tourism institutions in Germany, he has held leadership positions in both the public and private tourism sectors. As co-founder of the Chef&Gastro platform he works closely with leading Bulgarian chefs to support the professional growth of young food and beverage specialists through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and industry-driven training initiatives.

 

Roger Heinzel 

Roger Heinzel works as project coordinator for the Tour-X CoVE project at DEHOGA Brandenburg (German Hotel and Restaurant Association, Brandenburg). He holds a degree in technical cybernetics and a degree in political science. Roger has many years of experience and extensive references in digital knowledge management, as well as in-depth expertise in the planning and management of complex IT projects and the implementation of digital solutions for education and learning management. His current work focuses on the further internationalisation of educational cooperation in tourism and the hospitality industry within the framework of the European ERASMUS+ programme.

 

Silvia Enea

Mrs. Silvia Enea has extensive experience in project management, with a track record in EU-funded tourism initiatives. She has successfully led four European projects (NTG, PANTOUR, PacTS4ALL, and Tourism4.0), overseeing successfully leading four EU-funded tourism projects: NTG, Pantour, PacTS4ALL, and Tourism4.0. Within PANTOUR, she led the establishment of National and Regional Skills Partnerships (NRSPs) across Europe, aligning the initiative with the European Commission’s Pact for Skills framework. In PacTS4ALL, she led efforts to strengthen cooperation through the Knowledge Triangles initiative and to expand skills partnerships in underrepresented countries.

 

Sergiu Manea

Mr. Sergiu Manea is President Institute of Tourism Moldova Chapter and President of Employers Association of Tourism Industry of the Republic of Moldova (APIT). Visionary tourism strategist and industry leader with over 30 years of experience in tourism development, destination management, and international cooperation. As President of APIT, Sergiu Manea has played a key role in shaping national tourism policy, fostering partnerships, and promoting cross-border tourism. He also advocates for modernizing Moldova’s Tourism Law, creating a National Tourism Office and Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), and developing the Iași–Chișinău–Odesa Tourism Hub.

• Member, Economic Council under the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova
• Member, Advisory Council on Tourism under the Ministry of Culture
• Ambassador of the City of Odesa to the Republic of Moldova
• Member, EU Pact for Skills – Skills Partnership for the Tourism Ecosystem
• Member, European Tourism Association (ETOA)

 

Ana Maria Camps

Ana Maria Camps is projectleader of PANTOUR. Ana María Camps has focused her entire professional career on the world of tourist accommodation. Her studies in economics, specialising in international economics and economic development, allowed her to open up a path to understanding the economic implications of the tourism sector. The direct and indirect effects of the sector are analysed in order to improve the return on investment and the distribution of wealth. Afterwards, the Diploma in European Studies, taken at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), enabled her to learn about the functioning of the European Union, its decision-making bodies, its policies and its cooperation strategies. Her entire professional career has been aimed at helping tourism entrepreneurs. To date, at CEHAT, she has worked on the analysis of tourism indicator data, the design of training programmes, the leadership of European projects for the analysis of competencies for the tourism sector and the preparation and implementation of the Professional Hospitality Card.