The DIGITOUR partners – the Inishowen Development Partnership (IDP), IDEC S.A., EOLAS S.L., Business Development Friesland (BDF), Eurodimensions, and the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) – launched this new Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational
Education and Training (VET) project in July.

Agreeing that a revival of the tourism industry post Covid-19 will only be possible if the industry builds on its digital skills, the partners came together to form a strong consortium for the DIGITOUR project. Digital skills refer to the set of knowledge and skills required by an individual to effectively use information and communication technologies (ICTs). As the European Union goes through the green and digital transformation, digital skills have become the current demand in the labour market, especially due to the fact that there is a major skills shortage in Europe.

The project thus presents an opportunity for European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector to enhance their innovation capacity by skilling, upskilling, and reskilling their human resource base. Tackling the digital skills gap has therefore become a priority to the EU and an Erasmus+ VET project like DIGITOUR is well situated to do this. Overall, DIGITOUR points towards strengthened resilience of Europe’s tourism sector, sustained industry collaboration, and development of an industry-based digital toolkit for both VET learners and trainers alike.

The lead partners, IDP, led a successful kick-off meeting. The meeting brought together all members of the consortium and provided an opportunity for the partners to discuss the main objectives of DIGITOUR and to agree on the first project steps, main results, and long-term goals. A date for the first in-person partners’ meeting was also agreed, in which the partners will come together in Badajoz, Spain, hosted by EOLAS S.L..

For more information about DIGITOUR, kindly contact MBB Projects Executive Martina Spiteri on mspiteri@mbb.org.mt.

The DIGITOUR Project, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, is led by Inishowen Development Partnership (Ireland), IDEC S.A. (Greece), EOLAS S.L. (Spain), Business Development Friesland (the Netherlands), Eurodimensions, and Malta Business Bureau (Malta).