Advisor competence profile

Sustainable Tourism & SDGs

Sustainability focuses on meeting present needs without compromising the possibility of future generations to meet their own needs. It is composed of three pillars: economic/profits, environmental/planet, and social/people. This competence area describes the knowledge, skills and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire and develop in order to guide small tourism providers, in watercourse regions, to adopt more sustainable practices in their local businesses.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define sustainable tourism
• Demonstrate how tourism has the potential to contribute to the SDGs
• Describe the targets that are related to sustainable tourism development included in SDGs 8, 12 and 14

Skills:

• Support small tourism providers defining sustainability priorities for their business
• Customise a plan for the implementation of the SDGs’ goals by small tourism providers in watercourse regions

Attitudes:

• Advise small tourism providers on the importance of developing green skills
• Debate on how to address sustainability and the SDGs in tourism activities in watercourse regions

Ethics & Social Responsibility in Tourism

Ethical and socially responsible tourism is the junction where tourist expectations and destination needs meet at environmental, social and economic level. This competence area describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire and develop to guide small tourism providers in watercourse regions to initiate and run more ethical and socially responsible practices in their businesses.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define ethics and socially responsible tourism highlighting its impact on small tourism businesses, local communities and economy
• Provide examples of ethical and socially responsible tourism businesses and practices

Skills:

• Support small tourism providers assessing the social and environmental impact of their business
• Explain the importance of adopting and integrating the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (UNTWO)

Attitudes:

• Guide small tourism providers on how to manage the ethical operation of their business:1. supply chain; 2. the local community (in the tourism destination); 3. Workplace; and 4. customers
• Advise small tourism providers to include accessibility into their policies and businesses strategies

natural & cultural heritage

Almost all European cities were built along waterways, there are many small rivers and streams shaping European’s landscapes. These watercourses connect cities, people, communities, cultures, habits, traditions, itineraries, all key elements in touristic attractions. This competence area describes the knowledge, skills and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor needs to acquire to support small tourism providers, in watercourse regions, in strengthening efforts to protect, safeguard and promote the natural and cultural heritage.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Differentiate natural heritage and cultural heritage
• Define tangible and intangible heritage
• Correlate watercourses (rivers, lakes, small rivers and stream) as natural and cultural heritage assets

Skills:

• Facilitate the comprehension of the existing UNESCO Culture Conventions, and in specific the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Provide references and tools for small tourism providers to devise a plan for managing the tourist-carrying capacity in watercourse regions

Attitudes:

• Assess the level of commitment of small tourism providers, in specific those located in watercourse regions, towards the safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage
• Demonstrate the role of small tourism providers, in specific those located in watercourse regions, in local heritage management

competitiveness & sustainable local business development

Tourist companies offer services that cause variable impacts in the balance between people, planet and business benefits. It is extremely important to expand knowledge about the different practices to promote business competitiveness associated with sustainable development at the local level. This competence area describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire and develop to guide small tourism providers in watercourse regions to find the balance between business competitiveness and sustainability in their local businesses.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define sustainable competitiveness
• Differentiate between ESG criteria and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Establish the relation between the ESG criteria and the SDGs

Skills:

• Exemplify why the ESG criteria (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) are relevant for small tourism providers
• Outline the role of destination management (DM) as a universal strategic approach for attaining competitive advantages
• Relate competitiveness and social responsibility in local development through sustainable tourism practices in watercourse regions

Attitudes:

• Advise small tourism providers, in watercourse regions, on the advantages of incorporating ESG criteria in their local business
• Raise awareness on applying sustainable business techniques to increase the competitiveness of local tourism companies

internationalisation strategy

In the context of the tourism sector, internationalisation means designing a product or service so it can meet the needs of people from different cultural background. This includes getting familiarised with values and behaviours of diverse target groups. Internationalisation also extends to networking and cooperation between different stakeholders in order to improve performance in a sustainable way. This competence area describes the knowledge, skills and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire in order to guide small tourism providers in implementing an internationalisation strategy efficiently, observing the sustainable management practices.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define internationalisation in sustainable tourism
• List the advantages and disadvantages of internationalisation for local small tourism provides in watercourse touristic destinations
• Identify key elements for an internationalisation strategy

Skills:

• Select best practices of cases of internationalisation of small tourism business in watercourse destinations
• Evaluate best practices of cases of internationalisation of small tourism business in watercourse destinations and propose improvements

Attitudes:

• Guide small tourism providers in designing an internationalisation plan, observing sustainable management practices
• Supervise small tourism providers in the implementation of an internationalisation strategy, including sustainable management practices

branding & digital marketing

Communication is the key to generate a better and solid business and this competence area describes the knowledge, skills and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire and develop to introduce small tourism providers to set of relevant concepts and tools regarding branding strategy for tourist sites located in watercourse regions; and also, to lead them into applying digital marketing strategies to promote their business in a more effective and sustainable way.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define branding and digital marketing applied to blue tourism
• Identify tendencies in blue tourism marketing

Skills:

• Apply branding strategy components, approaches, and key tools to develop a successful brand strategy for blue tourism destinations
• Evaluate real life examples of brand identity in terms of their application of branding strategy (case studies)
• Create a marketing plan for a blue tourism destination brand

Attitudes:

• Guide small tourism providers in applying branding and marketing strategies to promote blue tourism destinations
• Supervise small tourism providers with the implementation of branding and marketing strategies to blue tourism destinations

networking & local partnerships

The tourism industry is a complex global environment in which networking among diverse actors and stakeholders is essential in order to supply integrated tourism products and provide the best service to the visitor or tourist. This competence area explores the knowledge, skills and attitudes that the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire in order to build local networks and partnerships amongst the various stakeholders, such as tourism enterprises, tourists, national tourism offices, infrastructure providers and other types of supporting organisations who are directly or indirectly involved in tourism to build competitive advantage as a sustainable blue destination.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define the importance of networking and local partnership within sustainable tourism
• Describe how networking can be effective in boosting local partnerships to promote blue tourism offers
• Identify best practice examples within the tourism sector

Skills:

• Identify opportunities for local collaboration networks
• Demonstrate how local networks and partnerships could be operationalised in their region
• Argue for the creation of local sustainable networks centred on blue tourism

Attitudes:

• Collaborate with tourism stakeholders to encourage networking and local partnerships
• Guide and promote a more collaborative approach to sustainable tourism locally through tourism networks

innovation & digital transformation

Innovation and digital transformation respond to the growing demand for a digital tourism business ecosystem model, especially post-COVID-19. The use of modern technologies in business operations contributes to the ability of businesses to build resilience, gain a competitive advantage over their peers and secure viability.

This competence area describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes the sustainable tourism advisor must acquire and develop to guide small tourism providers in watercourse regions to adopt more sustainable practices in their local businesses through digitalisation.

Learning Objectives:

Knowledge:

• Define digital innovation in the tourism industry and how digital presence impacts productivity and profits.
• Give examples of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills needed in the different tourism sectors (i.e., accommodation, food and beverage, recreation and entertainment, and travel services)
• Provide examples of appropriate digital environments (VR, AR, etc.) in each tourism sectors

Skills:

• Select the most suitable digital business transformation methods to improve business processes as well as customer experience
• Apply the techniques and methods learnt to assist small tourism providers acquiring a digital skillset, at all seniority levels

Attitudes:

• Advise small tourism on the use and management of communication technologies (ICTs) tools, including Virtual Reality (VR), to allow them to provide an excellent tourist experience to customers.
• Monitor small tourism digitalisation process in the three areas of focus: business model and processes, staff skills development and customer experience