In 2020 an increasing demand for digital workers has been noted, with industries relying on employees to work from home to stop the spread of COVID-19. The tourism industry has been no different, relying on employees being digitally present, showing how working digitally has become invaluable this year.
Globally the WHO estimates that 15% of the population has some kind of need for accessibility assistance. For these people, accessible space is essential to be able to carry out daily activities including their leisure time. Also, many people have some temporary difficulty such as pregnant women, recovering from an accident, children, etc. The progressive ageing of the population associated with a longer life expectancy in developed countries also is causing an increase in the number of people with reduced mobility.READ MORE
What stands out during the Covid-19 health crisis is the importance of skilling employees effectively and with purpose. It underpins many emerging business recovery plans and is crucial to creating a more resilient and agile tourism industry, better positioned to cope with the unexpected. Skilling a workforce, whether furloughed or active, has supported both business and employees because looking after its people will be rewarded by customer loyalty and will attract the best and brightest future talent.READ MORE
It has been over three months since Covid-19 hit Europe and forced many countries to lock themselves down: large groups were not allowed anymore, #stayhome became the new normal and public transport and the streets have never been so empty. The tourism industry has been affected by many natural disasters, as well as political and economic turmoil, but when the whole world locked down due to the Coronavirus, many challenges were faced by European destinations. READ MORE
The COVID-19 pandemic put serious pressure on tourism and hospitality (TH) companies. Hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, visitor attractions, sports facilities, event centres and other companies had to close their premises for several weeks as part of government measures to curb the spread of the virus. Their financial resources were depleted and some went into default.
In this blog, key NTG partner TU Dublin, interviews Megan Best, CEO of Native events. Megan shares her insights and knowledge of sustainability and the event and festival industry in Ireland. Native Events is Ireland’s leading sustainable event production company. With more than fifteen years’ experience in event production and a background in environmental management, Native Events is uniquely positioned in Ireland to help events make the transition towards sustainability.READ MORE
The abbreviation DMO once stood for Destination Marketing Organisation and the work of a DMO concentrated on marketing the region by means of classic “push” advertising campaigns. As a result of digitalisation, many tasks have changed and a DMO is increasingly acting primarily as a destination management organisation.
Within the NTG Consortium, the DSFT is actively working on the implementation of content in a DMO competence matrix. The tasks and competencies anchored in this matrix are based on, among other things, the view that the DMO must set an example of leadership in digital issues to the actors in the region in order to keep pace with digitisation. The same applies to the management level of the DMO towards its own team. The right know-how and mindset is crucial for this. The DMO – together with a network of institutions – is therefore often responsible for the “digital” further education of (tourism) service providers. READ MORE
Together with other players and associations from the industry, Tourismuszukunft has been organising the Future Days since April, focusing on different topics and target groups. All these webinars, digital discussions or digital round tables are free of charge. And they have shown that the Corona crisis is an accelerator of development in DMOs and it has been realised that, at the moment, making mistakes is allowed more than ever. However, on the other hand, this experience means to learn and have a look at future skills.
The interview below presents the feedback from organizers after the first two events in April and May. Since then, there were more events for destinations and also an extended programme on other topics and targets. German NTG Partner DSFT attended the Future Days for Destinations where it became apparent that NTG future skills are crucial in the process of Change4Destination.READ MORE
The Tourism Society Cymru in partnership with the Next Tourism Generation (NTG) Project partner, Cardiff Met, came together to plan and create a Tourism Skills Competition for students. Calls went out inviting students from colleges and universities across Wales to pitch their best experiences of industry engagement, digital innovation and sustainable tourism. READ MORE
In spring-like weather, people looking for recreation feel the increasing urge to go outside – what are the possibilities to prevent cyclists and hikers from meeting on the same paths? Key partner DSFT discovers the possibilities to enjoy nature in a corona-proof way.READ MORE