Apresentação de Corné Dijkmans, da Next Tourism Generation Alliance, no FIT19 - XIV Fórum Internacional de Turismo do IPDT.

1. THE FUTURE OF WORK:
HUMAN CAPITAL in TOURISM
Dr Corné Dijkmans
Breda University (NL) – Porto, 26 March 2019

2. Contents
• Working in the tourism industry: the context
• The Next Tourism Generation Alliance (NTG)
• Project Context
• Project Objectives
• Findings from NTG Desk Research so far
• Next steps

3. Tourism: context
• Europe is the number 1 destination in the world: 713 million
international arrivals in 2018 (source: UNWTO)
• Tourism is the 3rd largest economic activity in the EU
• 5 million additional jobs expected in the next decade
• Dominated by SME’s

4. Context: Tourism 2030
The tourism industry will change dramatically due to:
• Enabling digital technologies
• Evolving visitor demand
• Sustainable tourism growth
• Travel mobility
Source: OECD (2018). OECD tourism trends and policies 2018, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/tour-2018-en

5. Future of work in tourism
• Mismatch between the needs of industry and education
• Limited understanding of the needs of employers by education providers
• Major skills gaps - basic soft skills, specific skills & emerging skills
(green, digital & social-cultural)
• Diverse needs: people of all ages, backgrounds and skills employed in
the industry

6. What is the Next Tourism Generation Alliance?
• NTG is the first European partnership and alliance for improving a collaborative and
productive relationship between education and industry.
• Implementing a long-term strategy for skills development in tourism
• NTG is a 4 year project: 2018 – 2021
• Funded by European Commission (Erasmus+), budget: almost € 4m

7. NTG Objectives
• Improve relationships between industry and educational providers in the tourism
sector
• Map current and anticipated skills shortages in the tourism sector
• Provide products and tools in response to skills needs
• Identify priorities for the review/establishment of new qualifications
• Improve the image of working in tourism at company and educational level

8. NTG Sectors and skills
Accommodation
Food & Beverage
Operations
Travel Agencies
& Tour Operators
Destination
Management
Visitor
Attractions
Skills
Sectors
Green
skills
Social-cultural
skills
Digital
skills

9. Professional and personal skills
• Green: Resource management, principles of circular economy, sustainable
design / tour packages.
• Social/cultural: Behavioural and attitudinal competences in interpersonal
communication, cross-cultural understanding and customer service
• Digital: online marketing, data analytics, use of AI, robotics, mobile
technology, VR/AR applications, conversational interfaces.

10. NTG: a partnership approach
• A multi-disciplinary partnership of 14 partners:
• 8 Industry Partners and Tourism Sector Representatives;
• 6 Universities
• Representing 8 countries:
• Italy, UK, Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland

11. Planned project outcomes
• The Blue Print strategy will assist destinations, tourism companies and higher
education institutions to support strategies for improving skills.
• The NTG approach, its modules and learning methods will be integrated into
the current European educational system.
• Providing a standard benchmark for sustainable tourism management, digital
and technological innovation, and social skills in tourism.

12. First phase: Research
• Desk research (completed)
• Survey among stakeholders in 5 subsectors (n=1404)
• Interviews with selected stakeholders from 5 subsectors (n=240)

13. Desk research - Future skills for all sectors
• Higher levels of education in general needed
• Self-learning capacities to cope with fast changing digital innovations and
disruptive business models
• Digital fluency - better understanding of AI, VR, AR, data analytics
• Skills in creating unique, customized and personalized experiences

14. Desk research – Need for transversal skills
• Critical and innovative thinking
• Interpersonal skills (e.g. communication & organizational, teamwork skills, etc.)
• Intrapersonal skills (e.g. self-discipline, adaptability, enthusiasm, perseverance, self-
motivation, self-learning skills, etc.)
• Global citizenship (e.g. respect for diversity, openness, intercultural understanding,
environmental awareness, high ethical standards, etc.)
• Media and information literacy

15. NTG desk research on skills gaps
The main skill gaps and shortages reported by employers relate to
general skills such as soft skills, problem solving skills, small business
management & entrepreneurial skills and ICT skills rather than to
“tourism-specific skills”.

16. The future of tourism skills
“High Tech with a
Human Touch”

17. Building blocks: Digital skills
• Good general digital literacy (e.g. good knowledge of ICT, MS-Office, cloud
software, online security)
• Furthermore: data collection, data analysis, data management
• Understanding AI, AR, VR, mixed reality.

18. Building blocks: Social-cultural skills
• Interpersonal and collaborative skills
• Entrepreneurial skills
• Attitude: open, pro-active and emphatic
• Cross-cultural awareness; diversity
• Self-learning skills, adaptability and agility
• Transversal skills

19. Next steps in NTG after research
• Build structural connections between industry and universities/training
companies: creating Industry Led Skills Groups
• Develop an evolving Skills Matrix per job category for the 5 subsectors
• Create example courses to bridge skills gaps

20. Your involvement in NTG?
• An opportunity to connect education & European policy with the Portuguese
industry needs
• To get involved or keep informed please provide us with your contact details.

21. Thank you!
For more information:
Dr Corné Dijkmans – dijkmans.c@buas.nl
NTG website: Nexttourismgeneration.eu