Protection of the environment is going to be and already is one of the hot topics in tourism and hospitality in 2020. The different sub-sectors in tourism and hospitality will have to take this into account through various business decisions. Eurogites focuses on the green trends in hospitality for the upcoming year in the second blog of this trend-series.READ MORE
Digital innovation and a greater commitment to the environment on the part of both tourism service providers and tourists themselves will involve major changes on the side of workers, executives and entrepreneurs. The trends of 2020 outline, in that sense, a quite defined path to follow. Key partner Eurogites look at the digital and environmental innovation trends in this 2-series blog. This blog focuses on the digital trends in hospitality for the upcoming year, based on the trend article of Hosteltur (2019) and the NTG research outcomes.READ MORE
Key NTG partner, TU Dublin is working closely with the Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group (COG) in Ireland. The group supports sustainable employment in the Irish Tourism and Hospitality Sector and was formed in March 2016 following a recommendation from the 2015 Expert Group on Future Skills Needs Report. COG works on a collaborative basis and includes industry representative bodies, education and training providers, state agencies and government departments. It provides a forum for practical action and collaboration to address the skills needs of the Tourism and Hospitality Sector in Ireland. COG works to coordinate the relevant bodies to agree and implement a work programme to address current and future labour supply and skills in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The Tourism and Hospitality Careers Oversight Group is an excellent example of best practice at national level and highlights the importance of a collaborative process to identify skill gaps, opportunities and address skills needs.READ MORE
VR is popular within the gaming industry, but its uses in other industries are slowly being discovered. The concept of virtual reality (VR) has been around since 1929 and was mainly used by pilots and the military. Major growth of VR for the tourism and travel industry is still expected but this innovation needs a more social approach. The Next Tourism Generation spoke with Freek Teunen, a Dutch pioneer, about VR and applying VR to make a more socially inclusive travel industry. With seven years of experience, Freek is a real VR expert. Two years ago, he helped launch the world’s first social VR experience at a theme park to make a family attraction accessible for disabled visitors.READ MORE
There are thousands of tourist destinations around the world, from small tourist attractions to entire countries, from capitals to remote villages. Arguably, the most important quality of any tourist destination and all of its stakeholders is whether it is successful or not i.e., whether it accumulates more economic benefits than economic costs (Robinson, et.al, 2013). It is a fact that successful destinations are not only marketed in a modern, innovative and creative way, but also managed in the same manner (Morrison, 2013). Nowadays, efficient destination management and marketing requires more diverse skills in order to address the high competition and stand out from the rest. The proper usage and integration of modern technologies are one of the most important tools in this process. Therefore, the development of digital skills becomes crucial for successful destination management organisations (DMOs).READ MORE
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is impacting almost every sector, and tourism is no different. But is the industry ready for it? Last year’s NTG Research found that the sector is already facing a skills gap around AI and data analytics and this gap will only grow as technology continues to develop.
But the term ‘artificial intelligence’ is a very broad one and can mean different things in different contexts. So what will AI mean in practice for the tourism sector? Where will we see it being used, and what does that mean in terms of the types of skills the sector will require?
Organizations in tourism and hospitality have massive databases of personal data nowadays as they ask their consumers to leave their data for better and optimized services. This could be in hotels for example, provide data for loyalty programmes such as preferences of pillows, favourite breakfast and date of birth. However, important information such as e-mail addresses, passport numbers and even creditcard details are being given in order to complete the reservation. Next to that, new technologies also enable guests to check in more efficiently, for example with a mobile application which holds a lot of personal data in order to be able to have a fast check-in. However, according to HotelNewsNow (2018), hackers are often attacking the hospitality industry on the search for secured data. Therefore, managers in tourism and hospitality, but also all other employees in the different departments in the sub-sectors should be aware of the high risks those hacks bring along.
This blog, written by key partner CEHAT, focuses on the importance of cyber security and what skills should be taught to all workers in tourism and hospitality in order to ensure the protection of all the valuable personal data of their guests. In this line, CEHAT collaborates with ITH as the technological arm for the dissemination of this information through international events such as Fiturtech Y, technical conferences throughout Spain and communication through ITH’s newsletter.
Generation Z represents a new generation of youngsters with specific characteristics due to the period of time in which they were born. They offer new opportunities for the tourism sector, mainly from the digital skills point of view, but also because this generation is highly committed to social and green issues. So how does this generation influence different sub-sectors in our industry? Key NTG partner, the University of Alicante, highlights the key characteristics of Gen Z and shares some interesting facts.READ MORE
The Next Tourism Generation Alliance interviewed Sophie van den Top, who graduated by writing her thesis on the possibilities to minimalizing the negative impacts caused by the different kind of excursions a tour operator can offer for FOX Travel. Her research is awarded with the TUI-CELTH Sustainable Tourism Award on Friday 8 november 2019. This award is granted each year to students with the best thesis on sustainable tourism in the Netherlands. Sophie from Saxion University developed criteria on how to improve the sustainability of excursions at tourism destinations. In this blog, she will highlight some of the most important outcomes of her research.
The Next Tourism Generation Alliance got in touch with Melissa Tolman, a postgraduate Dutch student, as she has recently researched travel behaviour and sustainability issues among millennials. Melissa, the graduate of the master of International Leisure, Tourism and Events Management of NHL Stenden, won the second prize of the TUI-CELTH Sustainable Tourism Award on Friday 8 November 2019. We interviewed her to gain insights into this important topic.READ MORE