WTM: Ministers Stress Need for Education and Skills in Tourism

UNWTO Executive Director Natalia Bayona. Photo source: UNWTO

Tourism leaders from across the globe underlined the importance of transforming the sector by offering more educational and training opportunities to younger people.

Participating in this year’s Ministers Summit of the World Travel Market (WTM) in London and co-organized by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 40 tourism ministers discussed the urgent need to make tourism an aspirational sector for young people with public-private partnerships supporting skills acquisition.

Addressing the event, UNWTO Executive Director Natalia Bayona said investing in education was of vital importance. The meeting comes a month after the UNWTO launched its “Education Toolkit” which enable countries worldwide to introduce tourism as a high school subject.

The UK’s tourism minister, John Whittingdale speaking during the Ministers’ Summit. Photo source: UNWTO

According to UNWTO data, with 1.2 billion people worldwide aged between 15 to 24, tourism can establish itself as a top employer of youth and driver of youth empowerment.

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni at the Ministers’ Summit. Photo source: Tourism Ministry

At the same time, however, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that approximately 10 percent of this demographic is unemployed and 14 percent holds only basic qualifications.

In addition to the UNWTO’s “education toolkit”, other actions encouraging education and training in tourism include a Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainable Tourism Management offered by UNWTO and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts which will welcome its first students in 2024. Additionally, some 30 universities worldwide contribute content to the UNWTO Online Academy.

Among others, ministers called for opportunities to discuss ways countries are tackling common challenges, including advancing tourism education; the need to upskill new and existing tourism workers; the need for education in tourism sustainability; the need for more and better-skilled workers; and ways to support education and skills development at every stage.

Photo source: WTM

In addition to the participating ministers, the private sector was represented by leaders from Riyadh Air and JTB (Japan Tourism Bureau) Corp, who underlined the importance of public-private partnerships, stressing that governments need to work with businesses to ensure training meets the needs of employers.