BET – Alliance for Skills, Sustainability, and Innovation in Emerging Tourism Types

Developing skills for emerging sustainable tourism through education-business partnerships, digitalization, and innovative training, supporting professionals, businesses, and students in the transition to resilient and impactful tourism models.

Context

The BET project aims to accelerate the transformation of European tourism by promoting a more resilient, digital, and sustainable ecosystem. Through collaboration between 14 partners, including universities, research centers, and market players from seven countries, the initiative supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the transition to emerging models such as scientific tourism, roots tourism, alternative destinations, metaverse tourism, and digital nomadism.

This evolution will be supported by the creation of a digital learning ecosystem that includes an e-learning platform, a game app, interactive virtual experiences, and an AI-based chatbot. In addition to training over 400 professionals, students, and teachers, the project will update and create new standardized occupational profiles (ESCOs) to reflect the new skills required by the sector. Long-term impact will be ensured by the activation of six business incubators and the formulation of specific policy recommendations.

Objectives

Create an ESCO occupational profile package consisting of 3 new and 3 updated job profiles relevant to emerging forms of tourism, based on skills intelligence;

Establish 6 Future Skills & Business Incubators as one-stop hubs to facilitate the creation of regenerative tourism businesses that adopt sustainable and digitalised emerging tourism models;

Design a Future Tourism Education Blueprint and 1 Certification Scheme to establish a dynamic, forward-looking educational ecosystem of high quality, that incorporates novel pedagogical methodologies and tools, appropriate for easing the transition to emerging types of tourism;

Formulate 1 modular, agile and novel Learning Programme consisting of 7 competence-based modules and deliver it through 6 face-to-face and 1 online pilot training, and 2 work-based learning activities, aiming at strengthening sustainability, digital transformation, business innovation, resilience and stakeholder collaboration among 360 tourism professionals, entrepreneurs and students;

Empower 60 VET/HE trainers and Learning & Development Managers in delivering inclusive training and coaching services by deploying cutting-edge technologies and learning methodologies to address the labour market needs concerning the adoption of the emerging tourism types, through a novel Train-the-Trainers programme, offered through 6 Seminars;

Create a Future Digital Tourism Learning Ecosystem hosting future-proof training resources, 1 Virtual Destinations game app and an AI knowledge base, offering immersive training experiences on emerging tourism forms;

Strengthen knowledge sharing, collaboration and policy impact in the tourism sector by reaching more than 10.000 stakeholders through targeted dissemination and exploitation, and the development of a Policy Recommendations Paper to accelerate the uptake of the emerging tourism models.

Activities

Mapping future skills: Analyze market needs to identify the digital and sustainable skills currently lacking among professionals.

Creating and updating occupational profiles: Practical definition of new roles (e.g., metaverse tourism specialist) and modernization of existing roles (e.g., tour guides) to include regenerative strategies and digital tools.

Curriculum design: Development of training modules covering topics such as scientific tourism, digital nomadism, and roots tourism.

Building the digital ecosystem: Technical development of an e-learning platform, a game-based application for interactive training, and a virtual assistant (chatbot) based on artificial intelligence.

Seminars for teachers and managers: Training sessions dedicated to those who will subsequently teach these new subjects, to ensure that trainers have the appropriate pedagogical tools.

Pilot courses and work-based learning activities: Conducting pilot courses (both online and in-person) and practical internships to test the acquired knowledge in the field.

Activation of business incubators: Creation of six physical and digital support centers (one for each participating partner country) offering advice to small businesses on transforming their business models.

Development of policy recommendations: Drafting guidelines based on the project’s findings to advise governments on how to incorporate these innovations into national laws.

Resources

BET Future Digital Tourism Learning Ecosystem

Future Skills & Business Incubators Portals

BET Future Tourism Education Blueprint

BET Future Skills & Business Incubator Operational Guidebook

Policy Recommendations Paper

Impact

Participants will acquire “soft” skills such as foresight and systems thinking, which are essential for managing unexpected crises and market changes.

Over 85% of participants are expected to report an increase in their confidence and ability to provide tourism services based on sustainability and the use of advanced technologies (AI, VR, XR).

Raising entrepreneurs’ awareness of authentic regenerative tourism practices by promoting transparency and climate responsibility in marketing communications.

Reducing the gap between the skills taught in universities/VET centers and the actual needs of businesses, thanks to the active participation of market stakeholders in co-creating programs

Through the Policy Recommendations Paper, the project aims to influence national and European policymakers to integrate these new tourism models into territorial development strategies.