Sustainability as a Recovery Tool for Small Tourism Businesses: Environmental & Social Responsibility in Tourism

<< Background >>With a 90% deduction in tourist arrivals, it is expected that substantial revenue loss will affect around 85% of Europeanhotels (EC 2020) due to COVID-19 pandemic. As one in ten Europeans are employed in the tourism industry, this will have even further implications on unemployment rates and social services into the coming years. Research and previous surveys with small business owners in tourism, uncovered the impacts on daily operations, as hotel managers must implement and report health measures, while at the same time balance guest, staff and supplier needs. With the COVID-19 pandemic persisting and tourism activity unlikely to return to 2019 levels for at least a few years, the priority challenges expected for the hotel industry include the need for health and safety management, revenue reductions, lack of liquidity and changing travel behavior. Despite the efforts by governments to support the recovery from the pandemic, the tourism industry experienced a strong decrease in investments compared to pre-crisis levels (EC 2020p). Considering the large share of the GDP that the tourism industry contributes in many European economies, it is crucial that additional efforts provide the industry with the tailored support need.<< Objectives >>The main objective of SURE To Tourism is to address the training needs of tourism SMEs owners in key transversal skills based on new updated research, and strengthen their business activities in terms of economic social and environmental impact. SURE To Tourism is a EU partnership designed to develop core and innovative learning methods that best encourage sustainable recovery of the small tourism business, answering the need for education and training thanks to an innovative proposal based on participation and ICTs. This project will focus on small Tourism businesses and the short and medium term measures that are able to support a green reopening of the tourism industry by contributing to: -A sustainable recovery;-Achieving the GHG emission reduction targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-Introduction of Digital technologies and solutions-Development of the tourism product as a unique value and experience destinationThe short-term measures will include:- Trainings for hoteliers on behavioral and technical measures to create rapid cost effects and implement hygiene and safety regulations into their daily operations.- A series of themed training video courses/ webinars on how small Tourism Business and etc.<< Implementation >>The main activities of the Project included:- A1: Project management (SWUNR):;- A2: Quality evaluation (DIAS);- A3: Dissemination;- A4: Effective operation.<< Results >>Under PR 1 :Methodology for TNA and GAP analysis was created. 8 reports for document research were created for the partner countries of the project.Informational regional roundtables were held with key stakeholders in each of the project countries. The required Skill cards template was created in accordance with the requirements of the EQF and ECVET. Seven skill/competency cards were created, 1 for Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain and 2 for Bulgaria and Serbia. Seven training modules (courses) were identified and prepared as follows:M1: Sustainability for tourismM2: Waste ManagementM3: Energy and Natural Resources ManagementM4: Digital Literacy for Sustainability;M5: Responsible Human Resources ManagementM6: Communication and Collaboration for AwarenessM7: Proactive tourism: The way forward.Under PR 2:The SWUNR hosted and developed the online platform. The platform is available and operational via the following web address: https://sureto-tourism.swu.bg/. The online platform is multilingual.Under PR3: Separate sections within the modules and their educational content were developed uploaded in the platformed duly translated into the respective national languages. The online training allowed certification.