The European Tourism & Hositality Skills Strategy and Action Plan 2026-2036 is live

The PANTOUR Skills Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2036) is the project’s flagship achievement and the culmination of four years of collaboration, research, stakeholder engagement, and skills intelligence across Europe.

The Strategy sets out a shared vision for the future of skills development in the European tourism sector and proposes 45 concrete actions to address current and emerging workforce challenges. It provides a practical roadmap for industry, education and training providers, policymakers, and social partners to strengthen the sector’s resilience, competitiveness, and attractiveness over the coming decade.

Developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders across Europe, the Action Plan translates the project’s findings into strategic priorities and actionable recommendations that support lifelong learning, upskilling, reskilling, and workforce innovation throughout the tourism ecosystem.

The National Regional Skills Partnership model and sustainability of PANTOUR

Alongside the Strategy, PANTOUR has developed a comprehensive framework for the long-term roll-out and sustainability of project outputs, ensuring that the tools, methodologies, partnerships, and knowledge generated by the project continue to create value beyond its funding period.

A key element of this legacy is the establishment of National and Regional Skills Partnerships (NRSPs). Over the course of the project, twelve NRSPs were created and supported across Europe, bringing together tourism businesses, education and training providers, public authorities, and other stakeholders. These collaborative platforms have demonstrated their value as effective mechanisms for skills intelligence, workforce development, stakeholder cooperation, and regional skills planning.

Building on the experience gained through the implementation and monitoring of these partnerships, PANTOUR has developed a replicable NRSP model and practical recommendations for long-term sustainability. The result is a living network and proven framework that can continue supporting skills development and collaboration across the European tourism sector for years to come.

Together, the PANTOUR Skills Strategy and Action Plan, the sustainability framework, and the NRSP model provide a lasting foundation for a more skilled, adaptable, and future-ready tourism workforce in Europe.

Download

Both documents are available for download.

PANTOUR Resource Book for educators, trainers, entrepreneurs and other tourism professionals is available

Access and download

The PANTOUR Resource Book is available for download and the Tourism Skills Lab is openly accessible via this link.

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 – Roger Heinzel

16:25 Best practice Chef & Gastro – Zhelyazko Karakashev

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

16:45 Emerging National Skills Partnership Moldova – Sergiu Manea

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.

Webinar: The Tourism Skills Lab hands-on workshop by PANTOUR: identify, analyse and plan for current skills gaps and future skills needs

This webinar is a hands-on hands-on session around the Skills Lab, the first tourism skills platform of its kind, and a space to explore, test, and experience skills development in action.

During this session, you will get to know the platform’s built-in tools and features and learn how to use them to identify, analyse and plan for current skills gaps and future skills needs within your tourism or hospitality organisation, educational institution, or training programs. To get the most out of the webinar, we encourage all participants to explore the Tourism Skills Lab in advance. Simply log in and spend some time navigating the environment before the session: Tourism Skills Lab Platform.

The more familiar you are with the platform beforehand, the more interactive, practical, and valuable the discussion will be.

About the Tourism Skills Lab

The NTG Skills LAB covers new skills for tourism jobs in three areas: digital, sustainable and social skills. The LAB provides practical tools and support for tourism professionals, employers, education/training providers and job centers on how to improve skills in these areas for work in five tourism sub sectors: Tour Operator and Travel Agents, Destination Management, Accommodation Providers, Visitor Attractions, and Food & Beverage Operations.

The LAB serves three main targetgroups:

Webinar details:

Date: 28 May 2026

Time: 16:00 – 17:30 CET

Where: Online on Zoom, link will be provided days prior to the event.

Registration:

Send an email to info@nexttourismgeneration.eu to register.

Webinar Tourism & Hospitality Training: Bridging Skills Gaps and Industry Needs | 16 April 2026

Training today is no longer about transferring knowledge. It’s about equipping people who can navigate change, make decisions in uncertainty, and turn sustainability and digitalisation into real action. On 16 April 2026, PANTOUR is organising a full-hour webinar around ”Tourism & Hospitality Training: Bridging Skills Gaps and Industry Needs”. This webinar is not about understanding theory, it is about what you can actually apply tomorrow in your work. Because lifelong learning is no longer just a concept, it is becoming a necessity. The tourism sector does not need more content. It needs better training. Training that sticks, that translates into action, and that prepares people for what’s next.

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Webinar Tourism & Hospitality Training: Bridging Skills Gaps and Industry Needs | 16 April 2026

Training today is no longer about transferring knowledge. It’s about equipping people who can navigate change, make decisions in uncertainty, and turn sustainability and digitalisation into real action. On 16 April 2026, PANTOUR is organising a full-hour webinar around ”Tourism & Hospitality Training: Bridging Skills Gaps and Industry Needs”. This webinar is not about understanding theory, it is about what you can actually apply tomorrow in your work. Because lifelong learning is no longer just a concept, it is becoming a necessity. The tourism sector does not need more content. It needs better training. Training that sticks, that translates into action, and that prepares people for what’s next.READ MORE

PANTOUR Final Conference 2026 functioned as a launchpad on 24 February in Brussels

Four years of skills development. Building upon another four years of research and outputs. Real momentum.

This week in Brussels, at the headquarters of ETOA – European tourism association, we organised the final conference of PANTOUR 2026.

Right in the heart of Europe’s tourism ecosystem, we brought together the sharpest insights, strongest outputs, and most honest reflections from four years of collaboration focused on the future of skills in tourism and hospitality.

This was not a “wrap-up.” It was a launchpad.

Each presentation and speaker brought a different lens. Together they brought a shared European perspective on how we future-proof talent in our sector, supporting the twin-transition. With contributions from:

Ana Maria Camps (CEHAT)
Corné Dijkmans (Breda University of Applied Sciences)
Fernanda Rabelo (TU Dublin)
Klaus Ehrlich (RURALTOUR)
Altti Näsi (SAMK)
Silvia Enea (Federturismo Confindustria)

The mix of curiosity and commitment that was experienced during this final conference is exactly what will shape the next chapter of tourism and hospitality in Europe. When people lean in, challenge each other, and build on ideas together, progress follows.

With the energy masterfully steered by our host and moderator Tim Fairhurst, we explored and discussed skills development from every possible angle; managing, monitoring, strategising, assessing, implementing, together with the participants we moved into another connected ambition.

PANTOUR has never just been a project. I has been a collaboration since 2018, built together with: Satakunta University of Applied Sciences – SAMK, Technological University Dublin, CEHAT – Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodations, Federturismo Confindustria, Gestlabor, University of the Aegean, ETOA – European tourism association, Hungarian Hospitality Employers’ Association (VIMOSZ), Zangador Research Institute, Breda University of Applied Sciences, European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (EVBB), Turismo de Portugal and RURALTOUR, and an extensive network of associate and affiliate partners, industry stakeholders and professionals who believe that skills are the foundation of a resilient, competitive, and forward-looking industry.

The full recap is coming soon.

For now: a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed, questioned, debated, and imagined what is next. The journey may be concluding, but the impact is only beginning. Stay tuned.

Thanks to Arran Wiltshire, Rachel Read, Laurence Lagier for hosting and facilitating us!

GEM 2025 to Host First PANTOUR International Conference: “Keeping Tourism Competitive”

The future of European tourism takes centre stage this autumn as GEM 2025 proudly hosts the first PANTOUR International Conference in collaboration with ETOA, a flagship event dedicated to equipping tourism professionals with the insights, skills, and strategies needed to stay competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.

Held on Monday, 3 November 2025, this landmark gathering will bring together industry leaders, educators, policymakers, and innovators from across Europe to address the most pressing issues shaping the future of tourism, from artificial intelligence and digital skills to sustainability and the evolving world of work.

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