114 月2023
Creating new Tourism Digital Talent, a combined effort
We often tend to believe that digitalising a company is a simple matter of first adopting a new technology and then taking the steps needed to put it into action.
We often tend to believe that digitalising a company is a simple matter of first adopting a new technology and then taking the steps needed to put it into action.
Tourism is one of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the global economy. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, tourism’s growth is being fueled by record levels of investment. In fact, the Kingdom is the largest investor in tourism in the world. Such growth will bring with it a huge range of opportunities for both men and women in the Kingdom in the years ahead.
The tourism sector remains very attentive to its recovery after the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but not only because of the need to resume its growth. Although 2020 was the most challenging year in the history of the sector, with a 74% drop in the volume of international travels compared to 2019, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), it is important to see the opportunities arising from this scenario. The time has come to propose a new vision for the future, focused on sustainable tourism and the circular economy – which represent the most suitable path for an integral recovery.
According to the World Economic Forum at the Global Gender Gap Report published in 2022, the global gender gap will finally be closed an incredible 132 years from now.
In recent years, the digital transformation of tourism has accelerated, both in terms of consumer habits and, increasingly, in how people travel and experience their chosen destinations. To keep pace, tourism businesses must increasingly become more innovative, not just in their business models but in how they actually work.
As tourism restarts, now is the time to fully realize its enormous potential to drive economic recovery and growth, to provide jobs and opportunity and to contribute, directly or indirectly, to all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Achieving this will not be easy. If we are to do so, we will need strong partnerships and for international organizations, UNWTO included, to work in harmony with governments and the private sector.
In 2019, destinations worldwide received 1.5 billion international tourists -- a new record. While economic data was positive, the escalating costs of overburdened ecosystems and strained infrastructure were causing an invisible burden on destinations worldwide. Seventy percent of surveyed sites near heritage attractions, along coastal areas, on islands, and in rural areas were affected by environmental impacts in 2019. However, few solutions were available to tourism managers worldwide via academic training.
Hospitality education has always evolved very fast. Nevertheless, the Covid-19 crisis only accelerated the shift towards digitalization. Many educational institutions had to switch from traditional learning methods to online in a matter of a few days or weeks. At Les Roches, as part of a joint project with Sommet Education and the other schools of the network, for example, classes went online in just one week, responding to the demands of the pandemic as well as the decisions of local authorities in a flexible and agile manner.
In the 21st century, the hospitality industry has undergone significant transformation, much of it driven by innovative technological solutions. With growing awareness of the environmental impacts of almost every economic sector, over the past five years technology has mainly been used to reduce costs, increase efficiency and advance sustainability.
Tourism is made of people, it’s a labour sector, so the investment in qualifications and digital skills is crucial to ensure training at all levels of the sector's workforce. In the field of education and skills, tourism faces the challenge of ensuring the training of future professionals as agents of change, while also ensuring the integration of sustainability into educational and training projects. Finding and validating new ways of developing and certifying new competences is a challenge for the tourism sector, and for all the education and training institutions.
Both Centennials and Generation Z (those born...
Sustainability is a concept that has been gai...
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