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PANTOUR / No category
July 4, 2024

Advancing sustainable vocational training in Europe trough Pantour

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.

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June 10, 2024

PANTOUR at the INC Conference in Amsterdam, 5-7 June 2024

From June 5 to 7, 2024, the THE INC Conference took place at the Hotelschool The Hague, Amsterdam Campus, drawing professionals, academics, and industry leaders from around the world. The conference revolved around the leading theme, “Technology Enabled Competitiveness and Experiences in Tourism, Hospitality and Events.”

Stanislav Ivanov from Zangador Research Institute and Corné Dijkmans from Breda University of Applied Sciences, both members of the PANTOUR team, participated in a panel discussion on the innovation and future of tourism and hospitality. The panel was moderated by Elena Michopoulou, and featured other renowned academics, like Dimitrios Buhalis, Juho Pesonen, Silvia De Ascaniis, and Ian Yeoman.

The conversation highlighted that although AI and technology can significantly enhance operational capabilities and customer experiences, the heart of the industry lies in its people. The ability to integrate new technologies effectively and ethically requires a workforce that is not only technically proficient but also adaptable, creative, and socially conscious. The panellists agreed that while artificial intelligence and other technologies will undoubtedly drive innovation and efficiency, the true catalyst for sustainable tourism future will be the development of skilled, proactive human professionals.

Finally, in the midst of rapid technological advancements, the focus should remain on empowering individuals to leverage these tools effectively, ensuring a balanced approach that combines technological skills with human intelligence.

June 5, 2024

BEST PRACTICE in skills development: TOP Rent-a-car, Bulgaria

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.

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March 19, 2024

Exploring Finland: Blending work, best practice and collaborative fun in the pursuit of Next Tourism Generation Skills

Some greetings and impression from our latest consortium meeting in Finland, where we’ve embarked on a journey to blend work and fun in pursuit of advancing the Pact for Next Tourism Generation Skills project. In this meeting we reflected on our milestones halfway the project, set new goals and ambitions to make our deliverables practical and attractive for the European tourism subsector. Ofcourse we also celebrated our collaborative spirit, and chart our path forward in this scenic Nordic setting.

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March 5, 2024

Best Practice: Enhancing environmental awareness in tourism and hospitality with gamified online sustainable training

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.

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May 25, 2023

The use of data as a competitive skills level in tourism

Among the different sectors of the economy, the tourism sector is one of those that is riding the wave of digitalisation most quickly, according to the CaixaBank Sector Digitalisation Index (ICDS). This same study also indicates that, within the tourism sector, the accommodation sector is gaining a greater degree of digitisation, especially in terms of the marketing of customer services.

Innovation is closely related to digitisation. This concept could be defined as the transformation of information from physical to digital format. Besides being a form of “survival” in our increasingly digitised everyday life, is a form of communication to be able to transmit this information from generation to generation.

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January 23, 2023

Join the Webinar ”Innovating and renewing skills intelligence” – 9 February 2023

Webinar ”Innovating and renewing skills intelligence”

 

Introduction

Fast developments in society and in the tourism sector has led to a completely new landscape for companies and also for workers in the industry. Also, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many jobs in the sector have changed rapidly and new ones have emerged. At the start of the PANTOUR project, a thorough secondary data analysis has been conducted on current and future skills needs for the tourism industry. Existing data has been analysed, such as from global and European industry reports, EU policy documents, consultancy papers and academic research. This has rendered a broad understanding of the status of skills in the tourism industry and what is needed for the future. In this session, we will share some first insight from these analyses.

 

Program 11.00 – 12.00 CET (10.00 – 11.00 GMT)

  • Introduction PANTOUR – Ana Maria Camps (PANTOUR project leader and CEHAT)
  • Skills Intelligence Analysis: Current and future skills needs in tourism – Dr. Corné Dijkmans  (Head of Research Tourism, Breda University of Applied Sciences)
  • Debate on the future of Skills Intelligence in Tourism

 

Registration

February 23, 2022

Gender equality and diversity: reskilling, upskilling and returning workers to the hospitality workforce post-Covid

Gina Oglesby, Back to Work Connect interview

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, many studies have pointed out the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 on the female workforce (OECD a, 2020, European Parliament 2020, UN Women 2020). Arguably the pandemic exacerbated structural inequalities that already existed (UN 2020, Wenham, Smith and Morgan 2020). Women faced differential economic risks, having been overrepresented in hardest-hit sectors of the economy, facing several barriers in business, being more vulnerable to the economic impacts of the crisis, and having to take care of family responsibilities, forcing them to leave their jobs and studies (OECD a, 2021). Furthermore, according to the World Forum Economic Report (2020), since the beginning of the pandemic, displaced workers have been on average more likely to be female, younger and earning a lower wage (p. 17). In the tourism and hospitality industry, the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on women were even more visible as they are more likely to work in this hard-hit sector supplying 60% of the workforce in accommodation, 53% in food and beverage and 47% in air transport around the globe (OECD b, 2021, p 7). Covid-19 impacted jobs and hours of work – particularly for this group (Renaud et al., 2020). Additionally, the loss of jobs in the sector, already highly gendered, the social struggle women have facing as caregivers during the pandemic and the barriers found in applying – for jobs led to more inequalities in the job market.

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December 9, 2021

Join the Webinar ‘New Skills Requirements for Tourism in a Post-Covid World – 9 December 2021

Webinar ‘New Skills Requirements for Tourism in a Post-Covid World – 9 December 2021

 

Join the livestream: NTG Webinar Series – New Skills Requirements for Tourism in a Post-Covid World – YouTube

 

Introduction

This webinar, organized and chaired by key NTG partner, TU Dublin, School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, will discuss and address post-covid skills requirements for tourism. The webinar will focus on perspectives from industry and examples will be presented from a number of different tourism sub-sectors in Ireland including accommodation, food and beverage, travel and tour operators, and visitor attractions. Additionally, the webinar will provide an overview of the reopening and recovery of the tourism industry and post-covid skills requirements at the European and national levels. Speakers include Rob Rankin (member of the Recovery Oversight Group for Tourism and President of the Irish Tour Operators Association), Alan Smullen (Head of People, The Doyle Collection), and Roisin McKee. The webinar will be chaired and moderated by TU Dublin and will conclude with a Q&A discussion.

 

Program 17.00 – 18.00 CET (16.00 – 17.00 GMT)

  • Introduction
  • Rob Rankin (Recovery Oversight Group for Tourism and President of the Irish Tour Operators Association)
  • Alan Smullen (Head of People, The Doyle Collection)
  • Roisin McKee (Country Director People 1st International)

Join the livestream: NTG Webinar Series – New Skills Requirements for Tourism in a Post-Covid World – YouTube