The topic examined how the gap between the increasing availability of tourism data and its effective use is being addressed through stronger data literacy, improved data management practices and enhanced collaboration among destinations, public authorities and tourism businesses across governance levels. Building on the monthly article “Data Literacy as the New Competitive Advantage for Tourism Destinations”, the webinar “Bridging Skills and Practice: Data-driven tourism for destinations and SMEs”, and the online discussion “How Is Your Destination Building Data Literacy?”, the focus was on the need to translate raw data into actionable insights, strengthen skills and organisational capacity, and support more informed decision-making.

Key themes included:

• The importance of data literacy as a core skill for tourism actors to interpret and use data effectively
• The need for targeted upskilling, practical tools and organisational change to support data driven decision-making
• The role of collaboration, data sharing practices and support initiatives in enabling more consistent, reliable and comparable data for tourism planning, sustainability management and policy development across different governance levels

The initiatives showcased demonstrate how different actors across the tourism ecosystem are applying data-driven approaches, strengthening skills and fostering collaboration to support more informed and sustainable decision-making, including:

• FACILITATE Project: supporting destinations and SMEs in turning available data into practical value by addressing technological, organisational and skills-related barriers through capacity building, digital tools and connections to existing European initiatives.
• DIGI-SI European Digital Innovation Hub: providing hands-on support, including consultancy, testing environments and digital readiness tools, to help SMEs apply digital solutions and improve data use.
• OpenAccess Tourism Data (OATD), TUR4all Travel Agency: developing a standardised and interoperable data model for accessibility data, enabling better data sharing, reducing fragmentation and supporting more inclusive tourism.
• DEPLOYTOUR, European Tourism Data Space: developing a common infrastructure for secure and trusted data sharing across the tourism sector, enabling access to interoperable and comparable data.
• PANTOUR Project: supporting skills intelligence and training development in the tourism sector by drawing on the results of the European Skills Survey in the accommodation sector to identify key gaps in data-related, digital, green and transversal skills relevant for SME competitiveness
• Visitor Flow Management and Dubrovnik Pass, City of Dubrovnik: applying real-time data and smart solutions to improve visitor management and support evidence-based destination governance.
• D3HUB Project: providing expertise, tools and support to strengthen data management, governance and analytical capacities for destinations.
• Upskilling Initiatives in the Hospitality Sector, Booking.com: highlighting the gap between current and future skills needs and promoting greater investment in training to support workforce development in tourism SMEs.

Stakeholder stories highlight the central role of data literacy and effective data use in strengthening the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the tourism ecosystem.

Key conclusions and emerging trends include:

• Data literacy is becoming a core competitiveness factor in tourism, as destinations and SMEs increasingly rely on data to support decision-making and improve performance.
• The capacity to use data effectively remains a key challenge in tourism, reflecting gaps in skills, tools and organisational readiness.
• Skills gaps are expanding and becoming more complex, requiring a combination of digital, analytical and transversal competences across different tourism actors.
• Targeted and practical upskilling support is essential for SMEs, particularly to address constraints related to time, cost and internal capacity.
• Data-driven approaches are increasingly embedded in governance and operations, requiring organisational change and the integration of data into everyday decision-making processes.
• Data sharing and the consistent use of data across stakeholders are gaining importance, supporting better coordination and more reliable analysis.
• Collaboration and knowledge exchange at European level are gaining importance, enabling the scaling of best practices and supporting a more coordinated transition towards data-driven tourism.