Explora I: cruises to the Caribbean and Central America in its debut season.

The World Travel Market's (WTM) London's most massive conference of tourism ministers emphasized the importance of education and training for the future of the travel industry. Under the slogan "You have the power to change travel. And travel can change the world", Natalia Bayona, responsible for innovation, education and strategic investment at the World Tourism Organization (WTO), began by focusing on reality: "There are 1.2 billion young people in the world between the ages of 15 and 24. "

The OMT spokeswoman said, however, 'there are many more markets to reach', but tourism 'is not a priority for young people in their educational choices', raising the question of why tourism is not attractive''for young people. In addition, she noted that the tourism industry is not among the top 3 most attractive industries for young people according to a Google study.

Natalia Bayona highlighted that 80% of existing tourism education programs focus on "hospitality management," recognizing that tourism is "much more than that." Therefore, she noted that "we must define the basic principles of tourism development," emphasizing that "education and training is certainly one of them".

Julia Simpson

CEO and President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), echoed a message she made a few days earlier at the organization's global meeting held in Rwanda from 1-3''November, and consisting of identifying "where exactly the tourism industry wants to go in the coming years". "Without development, we cannot guarantee the future of young people, and it is that future that young people are looking for. "

The WTTC spokesperson also emphasized that the tourism industry is a "growth industry" and that "we need to change the perception of working in tourism." Julia Simpson was keen to say that "we need to get the message across that working in tourism is positive and basically provides a career for those who choose this industry, which tech companies are successfully doing. "

The views of several ministers

who spoke at the conference echoed the remarks of both CEOs during the opening of the event.''The Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries emphasized that "we need to show young people that tourism is a career opportunity. But this is not being done.'

Patricia de Lille, South Africa's Minister of Tourism, also noted the importance of public and private sector collaboration to overcome the challenge of attracting young people into the tourism industry. "Tourism needs are changing and the industry needs to keep up," recognizing that "this is not happening.

"We need to know what will be required in five or ten years' time and adjust education programs and training in tourism to this future reality," noted Louis Stephen Obigado, Mauritius' Minister of Tourism, stressing that "there are new skills but they do not match the needs of the tourism''industry'." Therefore, he said, "we need to capitalize on the new generations' interest in everything related to technology. "

Public-private partnerships were another hot topic discussed by all tourism ministers present at the conference, although Egyptian Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa noted "the low productivity of the industry compared to other sectors".

Jordanian Tourism Minister Markam Al-Qaisy reiterated the fact that the education and training of young people is too focused on "hotel management," forgetting other activities that are just as important or even more important than hotel management, such as tourist guides, cab drivers, bus drivers, restaurants, and others. In addition, Al Qaisi noted that'''it's important to teach young people different languages because if we want to provide customized experiences for different audiences, we need to know the language of those tourists. "

Another issue raised by several ministers was the relationship of tuition costs to investment. Clayton Bartolo emphasized this point, saying that "for many in the industry, education is seen as a cost rather than an investment," recognizing that educating young people is "the biggest investment you can make for any country and economy. "

The Indonesian tourism minister noted that "if we want the tourism industry to grow, it will not be possible without a strong bet on education and training for young people. "

"There must be an understanding that''That the tourism industry has changed with the advent of COVID and that's not being taken into account. It seems like we want to do things the way they were done in pre-COVID times and that's wrong. If we don't evolve, we won't be able to attract new talent to our industry. "

One of the questions posed by Jamaica's Minister of Tourism was, "Did anyone in the industry ask those who were educated what kind of training they wanted and were looking for when they were interested in our industry?".

Mauritius Minister Louis Stephen Obigado focused on the need for "flexibility and mobility of human resources" but without forgetting that "the identity and authenticity of place must be preserved".

At the end of the conference, Indonesia's tourism minister again emphasized the issue'"public-private partnerships, recognizing that "what's missing from the equation is 'people'\'\'\'people'\'".