Vocational Education
for the Sustainable Development of
Rural Tourism Enterprises
An EU Leonardo Partnership Project
with UK, Poland, Spain and Portugal
2012-2014
UK Susted
New College Stamford
Poland Zespół Szkół Technicznych
w Białymstoku
Społeczny Instytut
Ekologiczny (Social Ecological Institute)
Pruszynka Gastronomia
Spain Youth Association Celtas
Terrae
Municipality of A Lama
Portugal Escola Básica do 2/3 de Baião
Câmara Municipal de
Baião
Associação Empresarial
de Baião
Ecosimbioses
Project Coordinator: Adam Cade, Susted
The Vocational Educational for the
Sustainable Development of Rural Tourism Enterprises (VESURT) project
had partners from four countries. Its aimed to train rural tourism
providers to become more sustainable. It did this in three ways: 1)
by enabling partners to learn about sustainable tourism initiatives
in partner countries; 2) by developing and evaluating short training
activities, using shared resources, for rural tourism sector staff,
trainees, students and partners about sustainable and local tourism,
and; 3) by identifying ways of extending and disseminating the
training activities.
We produced awebsite with about 30 case
studies (with videos, photos and presentations) and 12 learner
activities (with briefs, activity sheets and examples of student
work) all based on an existing BTEC Responsible Tourism Module. This
could be used as a template for curricula in other countries. The
cases studies of rural sustainable tourism were from the UK, Poland,
Portugal and Spain, exploring ecotourism, gastrotourism, agrotourism,
sport tourism, and cultural tourism through the themes of food,
festivals, nature, travel, sport, language.
All partners, including staff and
learners, have benefited from the partnership:
Experiencing many case studies of rural
tourism (as potential learning resources for VET students) with
different degrees of sustainability, using the key questions and
sustainable tourism framework.
Developing some training presentations
and sessions for use with travel, tourism, catering and hospitality
VET students.
Understanding cultural similarities and
differences, as well as opportunities for future projects (eg.
Erasmus plus Eco-enterprise) and collaboration.
The added value of our project was at
local, national and European levels, but especially in extending our
interests, experience and contacts to a wider European dimension. At
the European level it:
1) Increased the awareness of partners
and participants in our interdependence with the environment (as we
will consider pan-European issues such as resource efficiency,
climate change, and global travel).
2) Increased our awareness of cultural
diversity (especially as we focused on cultural heritage) of
different European countries and the pluralism of opinions and
interests (especially as the project developed) of the European
partners.
3) Encouraged partners and participants
to participate actively at all levels in political decisions about
tourism (eg. a range of approaches to local sustainable tourism
development at Rutland Water and Bialoweiza National Forest) that
impacts on European society, economy or environment.
4) Encouraged innovation and
entrepreneurship in the development of new tourism products and
services (eg. LocalCheck, Entroido tour)
5) Encouraged new partnerships between
European countries (eg. new Erasmus + student-led eco-enterprise
project - VEERE)
6) Encouraged more sustainable tourism
by visitors from other European countries, by enabling tourism
operators to describe features of sustainable tourism (eg. Good
Traveller Guide)
7) Introduced different approaches to
vocational education in a range of European countries (eg.
Sustainable Tourism Framework and International Traditional Recipes
Exchange)
Each of the seven objective were
achieved:
1) To learn from each other and
identify good practice - fully achieved. We had 8 transnational
meetings as the main focus for learning from each other, especially
during study visits to identify good practice in sustainable rural
tourism using the Sustainable Tourism framework and 10 key questions.
2) To learn about partner country
initiatives - fully achieved esp. through the three VET
schools/colleges in UK, Poland and Portugal in catering and
hospitality courses and by visiting case study sites, centres and
organisations known and used by the partners.
3) To explore the components of the
training - achieved esp. using the UK partner and training with
students from different courses in New College Stamford - describing
through case studies different types of tourism (eg. ecotourism) and
their characteristics (eg. The Sustainable Tourism Framework and the
Good Traveller Guide), as well as a curriculum that could be used as
a template in other countries (the BTEC Level 2 Module in Responsible
Tourism).
4) To explore the approaches to the
training - Achieved. Observing and participating in the training of
learners enabled us to learn from teachers and trainers, esp. with
the VET students from the three VET institutions in Portugal, Poland
and the UK, as well as with the many staff and owners of SMEs with
whom we interacted in the case studies visited during transnational
meetings.
5) To develop a training event in each
partner country - partly achieved. Training events were developed
with the staff and students of the three VET institutions in
Portugal, Poland and the UK.
6) To evaluate each training event, and
explore how to certify the training - Partly achieved, but reduced
because of loss of 3 key original partners. Forms for evaluation were
drafted by the Spanish partners and partly analysed.
7) To promote sustainable tourism
training more widely - Fully achieved, esp. through interaction with
many SMEs from the case studies during the transnational meetings,
and through different courses and departments in the VET institutions
learning about the potential to integrate sustainability into their
courses eg. politics, art and design, catering and hospitality,
woodworking, even automotive engineering, as well as to some wider
European networks (eg. BESTen and the RCE Education for Sustainable
Development network coordinated by the UN University
http://rce-network.org/portal/Europe)
Entrepreneurship - Several
activities done with VET student explored the opportunities for
enterprise development, esp. of rural tourism destinations eg. Duoro
canoeing, walking/cycling tours, ways of promoting and marketing the
sustainability of rural tourism enterprises. Several enterprises were
interviewed as part of the case studies, and this showed to the
students and partners the entrepreneurship of the owners (Barbeira,
Siolo Budy, Rutland Cycling
Communication in foreign language
- We all learnt the links between our languages when we compared the
English word for Mill, with the Portugese (moinho), Polish (młyn)
and Spanish (molino) words. The students and staff of the Polish,
Portugese and Spanish partners improved their English language over
the two years of the project. Polish and Portugese students
translated their traditional recipes into English. Much of the
discussion during the meetings and at mealtimes was in English, and
often about language and the meaning of words.
Cultural awareness and expression
- This was a major competence developed by the VET students and
staff. The partners learnt to reject cultural stereotypes eg. of what
is rural and urban, traditional and non-traditional, authentic and
false, ancient and new, local and global, sustainable and
non-sustainable. The host countries of the transnational meetings
learnt to identify and characterise what was locally distinctive
about particular tourist features or destinations that were presented
as case studies.
The subject and themes of the project -
sustainable rural tourism - focuses very strongly on cultural and
linguistic diversity. This is what we referred to as local
distinctiveness. The LocalCheck activity in described in the Teaching
Resources section of http://learnsustainabletourism.weebly.com
Cultural diversity was expressed and
described in many of the 30 or so case studies as it is a major
feature of sustainable tourism in terms of its positive social impact
on the visitor and the local community in terms of understanding,
empathising and appreciating cultural differences - whether in terms
of meal times, keeping time, greetings, honouring the older
generation etc.
Also cultural similarities and
comparisons were explored and described. A better understanding of
language (esp. the language links and similarities such as words for
"mill"in different languages) and common European
characteristics was a key part of the project.
Results
- We have produced about 30 case studies (with videos, photos and presentations), 12 learner activities (with briefs, activity sheets and examples of student work) all based on an existing BTEC Responsible Tourism Module which can be used as a template for curricula in other countries.
- We planned and delivered a range of 14 different training sessions to New College Stamford VET students (in Travel and Tourism, Catering and Hospitality, Art and Design and Politics. Also provided 3 training sessions to staff in 2 ecotourism companies.
- We developed a Questionnaire and survey of needs and opportunities of Visitors and Professionals - key questions, related to the BTEC Responsible tourism Module, as questions to tourism professionals. Developed and promoted LocalCheck criteria/ questions.
- We produced video interviews with tourism professionals and photos of all case studies - eg video A Lama case study restaurant owner in Spain, an illustrated talk by Anglian Water and Rutland Cycling etc.
- We presented and reported 12 case studies of sustainable tourism in UK.
- We developed a Sustainable Tourism Framework, and key questions for each case study by all partners.
- We developed a Website including online resources, files, training presentations - http://learnsustainabletourism.weebly.com as shared website, with links to other EU-funded projects, online resources, files.
English was the working language so
skills were improved when 20 travel and tourism VET students
communicated with the partners and 10 members of an EU Transversal
study visit.
ICT skills were developed when 20
travel and tourism students prepared presentations esp. in the Plan a
sustainable Holiday assessed activity. Two Art and Design Foundation
students prepared a range of media (website, social media, leaflet,
business card etc).
Vocational skills were developed by 40
catering and hospitality students in researching local traditional
recipes from organic sources, and for the 20 Travel and Tourism
students to identify the pros and cons of tourism, and the Plan a
Sustainable Holiday activity which mirrors the work of a travel
agency like Thomas Cook.
Motivation was hugely increased (both
according to staff and students!) by all VET students, especially
those that communicated directly with the staff or students of
partners. The Rutland Water Study Visit was very motivational to the
20 Travel and Tourism students. The most motivational of activities
was the International Traditional Recipe Exchange, with the
associated evening meal for 50 paying guests (at £25/head) prepared
by about 20 Catering and Hospitality students and served by 20 Travel
and Tourism students.
Self-confidence again was hugely
increased (according to staff) when students gave presentations of
the planned sustainable rural holiday to the VESURT project partners
during a transnational meeting.
Knowledge about partner countries and
cultures was increased for the Travel and Tourism and Catering and
Hospitality students in terms of producing food and drink for the
evening meal that was described by catering students from Spain,
Portugal and Poland. Equally the Travel and Tourism students had to
research carnivals and accommodation in Galicia, and travel routes to
Spain for the assessed Plan a Sustainable Holiday activity, which
they then presented to members of a visiting EU Transversal Study
Visit group of 12 senior educators, and got feedback from them.
SustEd has now helped one VET
institution develop its training programmes and curriculum with more
collaborative, interdisciplinary working between departments based on
their experience of integrating sustainability and intercultural
elements with a range of courses in catering, hospitality, tourism,
art and design and politics. This has helped SustEd with its advice
and support for other VET institutions such as City College, Norwich,
and Melton College, Melton Mowbray. It has also helped us develop our
two EU Study Visits and future relations with the participants. This
was our main reason for involvement in the project. Lastly it has
given SustEd its first experience of transnational strategic
partnerships which have now moved into three new Erasmus Plus KA2
Strategic partnerships - VEERE, ACEWild and EDVORG all with a range
of UK and other European partners.
The
http://learnsustainabletourism.weebly.com will be improved and
promoted even more to VET institutions with whom SustEd works eg.
currently City College, Norwich, Peterborough Regional College and
Melton College.
The case studies on the website and the
results of the Plan a Sustainable Holiday activity will be used by a
Spanish/UK tourist SME (TwobirdsOnestone) who wish to develop a 5 day
tour of the carnivals in Galicia and North Portugal, where the
partners described several case studies of masked carnivals or
Entroido. We will also be supporting Siolo Budy SME in Poland to make
links with organisations in the UK and market their services to UK
birdwatchers using the Rutland Water Bird Fair which was one of our
case studies.