PANTOUR at CBTS and annual ATLAS Conference

From the 24th until the 28th of June, Breda University of Applied Sciences hosted two major global events. The Consumer Behaviour in Tourism Symposium  discussed the topic of Tourism Transformation and more Sustainable Behaviour. The annual ATLAS Conference was centred around Leisure and Tourism in 2030: Navigating the Future. During both events, several PANTOUR colleagues received the stage to present and discuss the most recent research results, global challenges around the topic of human capital and academic insights from researchers all around the world.

CBTS ATLAS Industry Day: PANTOUR workshop

Powered by the Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality, Lobke Elbers from Breda University of Applied Sciences and PANTOUR hosted a workshop together with Simone Romijn (Team Leader Human Capital and Kennis Centrum Kusttoerisme, Hogeschool Zeeland) around the topic of Human Capital during the Industry Day. The workshop discussed human capital and its impact on the tourism, leisure and hospitality landscape, using PANTOUR project insights. This workshop was designed to keep delegates up-to-date with the latest insights of the most in demand competencies and provide practical insights to enhance knowledge on human capital. In a broader discussion, participants delved into the 4 elements of employment in tourism, leisure and hospitality; attracting & retaining talent, current skills gaps and future skills needs. In line with PANTOUR, we explored the intersection of business, education, and a successful HR strategy.

 

ATLAS annual Conference: Special Track PANTOUR represented

Track Convenors
Rose De Vrieze-McBean – Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands and PANTOUR
Lobke Elbers – Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands and PANTOUR

 

A special track was organised for academic researchers to present their abstract related to the topic of Skills Development and Workforce Education in the 21st Century. The tourism, leisure, and hospitality industries have been undergoing rapid transformations. The background of this track lays in the fact that in the past years, the tourism dector had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as more recent financial crises. Additionally, the sector is being propelled by technological advancements, shifting consumer demands, and triggering the need for establishing sustainable practices. Neunen and Scarles (2021) discuss the impact of the propagation of interactive digital platforms and solutions within tourism practice through various lenses, ranging from user-generated content and related interactive digital platforms to the advent of gamification. Rooted within these are immersive mixed-reality media (such as virtual reality [VR] and augmented reality [AR]). Furthermore, changes in tourist behaviour have developed alongside these digital advances. They also examine the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in tourism, postulating the methodological prospective that digital technology offers for tourism studies (Carlisle, Ivanov and Dijkmans, 2023). Consequently, the advancement of digital technology compounded by new business models have transformed the modes of service delivery, and the increasing demands from consumers have created a major shift in the necessary skills of contemporary tourism workforce. Hence, there is an urgency to start upskilling and reskilling in digital, social, and green skills, for young professionals, in tourism education.

PANTOUR colleague Fernanda Rabelo, Postdoctoral Researcher from TU Dublin presented an abstract: Between the Past and the Uncertain Future: Post-Covid-19 Challenges, Remote Working, Climate Changes and the Development of Sustainable Skills in Tourism and Hospitality in Ireland, with Denise O’Leary as co-author. The presentation was well-received and can be downloaded here.