What does it take to prepare a new generation of professionals in sustainable tourism? In Thailand and Laos, the answer lies in innovative university training and dedicated career guidance services. This is exactly where INNO4Tourism has achieved significant progress in recent months.
In our last update, we anticipated the next steps toward the project’s long-term goal: improving and updating skills in sustainable and digital tourism management for students and professionals in the sector. Now, we are excited to share the results achieved so far.
Eight new academic curricula on sustainable tourism
Following the training “Curricula design for Sustainable Tourism”, held in Italy and Greece in November 2024 and hosted respectively by the University of Palermo and the University of Macedonia, academic staff from partner universities in Thailand and Laos have developed eight new curricula designed to train young students and tourism professionals.
These new study programmes were developed to strengthen the connection between education and the labour market, supporting the upskilling and reskilling of current and future tourism and hospitality professionals while responding to concrete industry needs. With this integrated approach, the aim is to provide updated, practical competences that can genuinely drive the sustainable transformation of the sector.
After an internal training round involving a wider group of lecturers, and following the promotion of the new courses to students, teaching has officially begun. It is still too early to assess the impact on local communities, but reaching this milestone is already a significant achievement.
Career guidance offices: a new space for building the future
Another key outcome of the project was the establishment of career guidance offices, fully set up across all partner universities by February 2025.
Over the past months, the offices have begun offering students tailored support, including workshops on writing strong CVs and activities to identify key professional skills. Universities will have more than one year to continue developing initiatives that facilitate connections between students and companies in the tourism sector, before evaluating the impact based on user experience. However, the creation of a permanent space that strengthens the dialogue between education and employment already represents a crucial step forward
A project rooted within academic communities
Almost two years after its launch, the achievements of INNO4Tourism are tangible: the project is now widely recognized across the academic communities involved, demonstrating the value of the processes activated both among students and within local tourism networks.
Next step: Vientiane In the coming weeks, we will travel to Vientiane, capital of Laos, hosted by the National University of Laos, to wrap up the results achieved so far and set priorities for the next project year. Meeting again after twelve months will be an important chance to strengthen the professional and personal relationships built during these two years.
About the project
INNO4Tourism – Innovative Curricula for Life-Long Learning of Sustainable Tourism Workforce is a project funded the Erasmus+: Capacity building in the field of higher education (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE).
Partners
- Prince of Songkla University (Thailand, coordinator)
- Chiang Mai University (Thailand)
- National University Of Laos (Lao PDR)
- Savannakhet University (Lao PDR)
- University Of Macedonia (Greece)
- Symplexis (Greece)
- Universita Degli Studi Di Palermo (Italy)
- CESIE ETS (Italy)
- Phuket Tourist Association (Thailand)
For further information
Read more about the project and follow us on Facebook and Linkedin.
Contact Marika D’Angelo: marika.dangelo@cesie.org.
