TERMA CULTURE OPPORTUNITIES - Opportunities for sustainable development through thermal and gastronomic tourism

<< Background >>Following the recent development in the tourism sector which was severely affected due to COVID pandemic after 2020 and especially the thermal spas and gastronomy, EduAge as a training company with innovative approach in professional skills development decided to support the tourism sector. The sector represents a significant part in the local economies, especially in the rural areas, thus multiplying the negative effect from the pandemic lock-downs for the local communities in a cascading manner. Due to the lock-downs, which were mainly imposed in the winter season, the spa industry lost income in the period with the highest turnover. People and businesses in the tourism sector generally lack alternatives and were forced to rely on social programs and recovery funds for their survival. Our team travels a lot and we have discovered that the industry is slow to adapt new approaches and to follow the modern trends. The prospect of recovery in 2022 represented an opportunity for the tourism industry which by tradition is conservative and biassed towards innovation. With our partners we saw the need for developing the marketing capacity of the people in thermal and gastro industry and empower them with innovative training and tools. << Objectives >>To address the challenges people in the thermal and gastro tourism were facing during the recovery period EduAge decided to develop professional training for the staff and means for the businesses to build and develop their go-to-market capacity. The positive effect EduAge was looking to achieve was to enable people and businesses from the sector to create a context in their own professional environment that would allow them to use their own initiative for innovation and business development. We had many discussions with some of our partners, during another Erasmus+ project (ECT SKILLS) and we decided that we can join our efforts and expertise to support the thermal and gastro industry. In our preliminary research prior to the project application we found out that the challenges the industry is facing are similar in all partnering countries; Austria, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy. << Implementation >>With the idea to increase the awareness and interest for thermal and gastro tourism on one side and to promote the employment opportunities in the sector on the other we have 1) performed a need analysis research in the partnering countries; 2) created and implemented an interactive map for promotion of thermal and gastro locations in the partnering countries and 3) developed an innovative training for staff aiming to increase the professional capacity of the thermal and gastro locations in the field of marketing, digitization and HR management. We have 4) shared the project results using various channels such as Facebook and Instagram, and through direct contacts with the industry representatives, both with employees and managers in the partnering countries. We have worked together with associated partners such as Jobtiger.bg in Bulgaria to enrich the content of the interactive map with real opportunities for job seekers in the sector.As planned we have 5) created a training course and performed LTT for trainers and industry representatives on how to use the map and the training materials and tools. As part of the project dissemination efforts we have 6) organized a blended conference in Sofia with more than 150 participants.<< Results >>1) Partners have performed analysis research in their countries with the local representatives of the businesses in the thermal and gastro tourism sector. The managers completed questionnaires sharing their capacity and challenges with their marketing and go-to-market activities and the employees were interviewed about their work experiences, professional background and their challenges on the job. In addition potential candidates for employment in the sector were interviewed among graduating university students and young adults who are starting their careers in the tourism sector. 2) Partners created the website of the interactive map and training courses including video training based on the input from the analysis research. https://thermaculture.eu/ 9 articles on the subject of Therma and gastro tourism were posted in the blog section of the website. 3) As part of the dissemination efforts, Each partner organized a local blended event. 4) Partners have organized an LTT and project conference in Sofia, Bulgaria. 5) Partners have posted more than 30 job offerings in the Therma and gastro touring on the interactive map website. 6) The project reached more than 400 people engaged in the Therma and gastro tourism.