From critique to contribution

The story begins with a simple gap. France—a global tourism heavyweight—was not represented in the group. For Vanguelis, that absence was more than symbolic. It highlighted a broader European challenge: enormous potential, but too little shared direction.

Instead of treating that as someone else’s problem, he chose to act. The invitation became a responsibility: to bring experience to the table, help structure the debate, and translate high-level ideas into something that can actually land on the ground, especially for the businesses that make tourism real.

Why skills, resilience and inclusion belong together

Vanguelis’ work within the platform focuses on a trio that is shaping the future of the sector: skills, resilience, and inclusion.

Resilience is no longer optional. COVID did not only disrupt tourism; it exposed how dependent tourism is on mobility itself. When movement stops, the sector stops. That lesson belongs in every risk assessment and every tourism strategy: future disruptions can happen again, and preparedness is now part of responsible planning.

Inclusion is equally non-negotiable. The task is not to debate whether inclusion matters, but to normalize it through action, spreading best practices and keeping inclusion embedded as a standard expectation rather than a separate initiative.

And then there is skills, which sit at the core of tourism’s identity.

Tourism is capital-intensive (planes, hotels, infrastructure) but it is ultimately a human craft. Service is built through connection: welcoming, listening, guiding, resolving, hosting. In an era of accelerating automation, tourism remains one of the most human-centered parts of the economy. That is not a sentimental claim; it is a strategic advantage. Experiences, authenticity, and genuine interaction are difficult to replicate with machines, and that makes skills development one of tourism’s strongest long-term investments.

The platform’s skills agenda is therefore not only about training people to perform today’s tasks better. It is about preparing an industry that can absorb disruption—and still offer meaningful work, dignity, and opportunity.

A sector at a crossroads: fear, change, and the need for a shared direction

Across Europe, anxiety around change is understandable. Technology is transforming work. Social cohesion is under pressure. Trust in collective solutions can feel fragile. Yet tourism sits at an interesting intersection: it depends on openness, exchange, and mobility, exactly the forces that can soften polarization when handled well.

Vanguelis points to something both challenging and hopeful: the plasticity of the human brain. Our capacity to adapt, learn, and rebuild social norms when the world shifts. The catch is that adaptation does not happen well in isolation. Collective challenges require collective agreement on what the “new normal” should be.

This is where the platform’s role becomes bigger than a technical exercise. It becomes a place to disagree productively, to compare approaches, and to build a consensus strong enough to translate into action.

If optimism is needed, it can be found in a simple reality: change often brings productivity gains. Productivity can create wealth. Europe’s social model, at its best, provides the conditions to share that wealth more fairly; if the political will and coordination follow.

The urgent gap: SMEs need usable pathways, not abstract strategies

A defining feature of Vanguelis’ approach is his insistence on focus: the platform’s work must serve those who struggle most to keep up with rapid transformation.

That means SMEs.

Small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of tourism. They also tend to lack the time, staff, and financial buffer to experiment through repeated trial-and-error. When transformation is urgent (digitalisation, sustainability, new regulations, new expectations) SMEs cannot afford three or four mistakes before finding the right path.

So the priority becomes clear: identify practical best practices, validate them, and spread them in a way that saves time and reduces risk for the businesses that cannot hire consultants or build internal transformation teams.

If tourism’s transition is meant to be real, it must “irrigate” the entire ecosystem, not only a handful of flagship champions.

The real test: communication that reaches the field

A recurring challenge is not discovering good solutions, it is ensuring they don’t remain trapped in a closed circle.

Vanguelis sees the risk of platform work becoming too technical, too academic, or too “inside baseball” for busy professionals. A tourism entrepreneur running day-to-day operations doesn’t have the bandwidth for dense documents or complex concepts, even if the topic is important.

Impact requires translation: clearer communication, simpler formats, and distribution channels that meet people where they already are. That means making outputs more visible, more digestible, and easier to apply.

It also means using the networks of the contributors themselves. Professional social platforms, especially LinkedIn, become part of the delivery mechanism, not an afterthought. The goal is circular: social media amplifies the message, the message brings new people to the platform, and new contributors improve the work.

A lesson from the past year: words shape solutions

One of the strongest lessons Vanguelis highlights is how quickly progress can happen when an ecosystem aligns on a shared framing.

The work around “overtourism” is a case in point. Shifting the language from “overtourism” to “unbalanced tourism” changed the conversation. It moved the narrative away from a simplistic “visitors versus residents” conflict and toward a more precise diagnosis: the problem is often not tourism itself, but concentration: too much pressure in specific places during specific periods, followed by long stretches of underuse.

That reframing matters because solutions become clearer when the problem is defined accurately. Better definitions lead to better policies, better management, and better outcomes.

How others can help: join the debate, bring in the next generation

Support does not require a PhD or a policy background. The most effective contribution is often the simplest: participating in debates, adding perspective, and helping make the issues more real and grounded.

At the same time, tourism’s future belongs to those entering the sector now. Hospitality and tourism schools, teachers, and mentors have a unique role: they can bring young people into the platform early, when they have time to learn, test ideas, and form their own critical views. Early participation builds familiarity. Familiarity builds confidence. And confidence turns into leadership later.

Even imperfect contributions are valuable. Engagement is the first step toward ownership and tourism’s transition needs future decision-makers who feel ownership.