Photo source: Athens Municipality
Aiming to empower tourism professionals with future-ready skills, foster sustainability, and support digital transformation in the sector, the European project BET – Alliance for Skills, Sustainability and Innovation in Emerging Tourism Types is setting a new standard for how destinations and businesses prepare for tomorrow’s travel landscape.
Co-funded by the European Union under the Erasmus+ Programme, BET brings together 14 partners from seven countries—including universities, research institutions, and market actors—to equip small and medium-sized tourism enterprises across Europe with tools and training to adapt to emerging tourism trends. The Development Agency of the City of Athens is among the official partners in the alliance.
Photo source: This is Athens
Empowering Tourism with Skills for a Sustainable Future
At its core, BET focuses on vocational education and training (VET) in tourism, aiming to prepare the sector for green, resilient, and digitally-driven growth. The program will train 360 professionals, students, and educators, and upskill 60 tourism trainers through dedicated seminars.
To ensure continuity beyond the project’s lifecycle, six Tourism Skills and Business Development Centers will be established in participating countries, offering support, resources, and mentoring opportunities for tourism professionals and entrepreneurs.
Rethinking Tourism: New Forms for New Needs
The BET project emphasizes emerging tourism types that align with modern traveler expectations and sustainable development goals. These include:
- Scientific tourism
- Heritage and roots tourism
- Cool location tourism (in destinations with moderate microclimates)
- Digital nomadism
- Tourism in the Metaverse
By promoting these less mainstream but rapidly growing tourism models, the project aims to reduce pressure on over-visited destinations, foster year-round tourism, and help lesser-known areas tap into new visitor markets.
A Digital Learning Ecosystem for the Tourism Workforce
BET will also develop a comprehensive digital learning ecosystem, including:
- A training platform offering two learning programs tailored to sustainable and digital tourism;
- A mobile learning game;
- Interactive virtual tourism simulations;
- An AI-powered chatbot acting as a digital learning assistant.
This ecosystem will serve as a scalable and accessible tool for individuals and institutions aiming to modernize tourism education and workforce readiness.
New Career Pathways and Professional Profiles
One of BET’s strategic goals is to define and formalize new professional profiles for tourism, aligned with current trends and skill demands. It will also update existing roles to reflect industry shifts toward sustainability, digital engagement, and experience-based travel.
Supporting Small Businesses Through Transformation
Crucially, BET focuses on empowering micro, small, and medium-sized tourism enterprises (MSMEs)—the backbone of European tourism economies. By offering free training resources, mentorship, and connections to cutting-edge practices, the project helps businesses move from traditional models to more adaptive, resilient, and competitive frameworks.
Through its participation, Athens ensures that local professionals, educators, and businesses are included in this European effort—gaining access to training, networks, and practical innovations that support sustainable and inclusive tourism development.
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