Van der Valk is a holding company that includes several hotels in the Netherlands and abroad. The holding company includes 9 Dutch hotels, a number of German hotels, 1 in Belgium, 1 in Spain and 1 on the island of Bonaire.READ MORE
O Valor do Tempo, “The world has never been so Portuguese”. O Valor do Tempo Group was created in 1994 in Seia, and its first public expression came in 2002 with the opening of the Bread Museum. The group currently owns 15 different Portuguese brands and is a business focused on customer experience. Remaining faithful to the Group’s values, the brands are based on a legacy of Portuguese history and heritage and honour the past and traditions that time has preserved. The brands don’t want to sell a product; they want the customer to go into the shop and feel absorbed by the atmosphere and take away a memory. They want to leave a memory in the customer’s mind.
As active members of the PANTOUR project, Gestlabor had the opportunity to participate in the Peer Learning Activity (PLA) “European Vocational Core Profiles – Towards a Sustainable Model of Joint Vocational Content” organised by the European Commission on 21-22 May 2024. This online event brought together experts and stakeholders in vocational education and training (VET) to discuss innovative approaches and challenges in the development of joint training content across Europe.
In today’s rapidly evolving tourism industry, developing a strategic approach on skills development within organisations is crucial for a futureproof sector and workforce to remain competitive and responsive to changing market demands. In this series of best practices we highlight key areas of skills development necessary for the digital and sustainable transformation and inclusive tourism growth. We discuss best practices that have been carefully selected in the PANTOUR project countries to get inspired. In this blog, we focus on Ilunion Hoteles, a hotel created in response to the general crisis in Spain in 2008.
In today’s rapidly evolving tourism industry, developing a strategic approach on skills development within organisations is crucial for a futureproof sector and workforce to remain competitive and responsive to changing market demands. In this series of best practices we highlight key areas of skills development necessary for the digital and sustainable transformation and inclusive tourism growth. We discuss best practices that have been carefully selected in the PANTOUR project countries to get inspired. In this blog, we focus on Kel 12 is the first tourism company in Italy, seventh in Europe, to obtain B Corp certification, a result that is part of a long and committed journey that underlies the philosophy of Kel 12. It means: No direct advantage for the operator, but the creation of a shared well-being.
In today’s rapidly evolving tourism industry, developing a strategic approach on skills development within organisations is crucial for a futureproof sector and workforce to remain competitive and responsive to changing market demands. In this series of best practices we highlight key areas of skills development necessary for the digital and sustainable transformation and inclusive tourism growth. We discuss best practices that have been carefully selected in the PANTOUR project countries to get inspired. In this blog, we focus on TOP Rent-a-Car. Top Rent-a-Car is the leading national car rental company in Bulgaria. They operate the largest fleet in the country, which currently consists of over 2000 cars (90% of them are brand new), and offer national coverage of the service through more than 13 offices in the country.
Awareness regarding biodiversity, climate change mitigation and solutions for the decarbonisation of the economy are also critical in the tourism sector today. The growing discussion of responsible tourism and the UN Goals for Sustainable Development shows the importance of implementing actions to address sustainable development in tourist destinations. For this to happen, everyone in the industry must work together to develop and implement best practices, balancing the local needs of the population and promoting a responsible tourism strategy. Integrating new practices does not happen overnight; it also demands time, training, resources, effort, and commitment.
After the quieter summer months, autumn has brought a flurry of events for us. The vibrant season has given us the opportunity to actively participate in various activities, and we are happy to share the highlights of our efforts. While our previous article focused on our green skills projects (WASTELESS, Plan’Eat and TOURBAN), sustainability and socio-economic issues, now we would like to concentrate on the social skills. We focused on two key areas: Firstly, our commitment to promoting ongoing EU projects has taken us to several events. Secondly, we have been involved in domestic discussions, particularly concerning skills development in the dynamic field of tourism.
Sociology of tourism studies the relationships, roles and motivations of tourists and the ongoing exchanges between tourists, institutions and host communities. It helps us to understand the social and cultural dimensions of tourism, the impact of tourism on people and places, and the potential of tourism as a tool for social and economic development and social justice.
Overtourism is going to be a growing concern for European cities, even if the topic it is not entirely new. For instance, Doxey (1975) proposed an ‘irritation index’, an ideal type model mapping the changing perception of residents towards visitors in an area’s touristic life cycle. In the tourism development of a destination Doxey identified four stages of local responses: after initial enthusiasm about the economic benefits of tourism (euphoria), attitudes tend to change with the growth of visitors. After a while, locals get used to tourists and may become indifferent (apathy). But when the number of holidaymakers exceeds a threshold annoyance comes in (irritation) that may even end in hostile feelings vis-à-vis tourists (antagonism). Obviously, the last two phases are relevant for overtourism. Why are some cities more susceptible to be overrun by tourists than other ones?