Recent Project - Sustainable Tourism Training

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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. We presented and reported 12 case studies of sustainable tourism in UK.
  6. We developed a Sustainable Tourism Framework, and key questions for each case study by all partners.
  7. 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.