The topic examined how upskilling and reskilling initiatives can support employability, innovation, and long‑term competitiveness in tourism. More specifically, it explored how tourism education and training can be renewed to better align skills development with the needs of a sustainable and digitally transformed tourism sector. Drawing on the monthly article “Equipping Future Tourism Professionals for a Sustainable and Digital EU”, the webinar “Renewing Tourism Education: Bridging Skills Gaps for a Modern Workforce”, and the online discussion “Renewing tourism education: Training tourism professionals” in December 2024, the focus was on addressing skills gaps, modernising learning pathways, and strengthening collaboration between education, training, and industry. 

Key themes included:

• The integration of green, digital, and soft skills into tourism education and training programmes
• Innovative learning approaches, including flexible, competence‑based pathways, lifelong learning, and work‑based training 
• Stronger collaboration between education providers, public authorities, and the tourism industry to better match skills supply with labour market needs.

The initiatives showcased illustrate how stakeholders across education, training, and industry are renewing tourism education and training, including:

• PANTOUR – Pact for Next Tourism Generation Skills: project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme, supporting the green, digital, and social skills transition in tourism through sectoral skills intelligence, partnerships, and upskilling and reskilling solutions. 
• TOUR‑X – Centre of Vocational Excellence for Tourism: EU-funded project promoting modern vocational training models for tourism professionals by combining digital learning tools, micro‑credentials and hands‑on experiences to support reskilling, upskilling and applied learning.
• TREADS - Tourism Resilience Education in Digital Security: Erasmus+ co-funded project addressing disinformation and cybersecurity risks in tourism by updating vocational training and strengthening professionals’ digital skills to respond to emerging threats linked to digitalisation.
• EthAI Tour – Ethical use of Artificial Intelligence in Tourism:  Erasmus+ co-funded project introducing ethical, transparent, and responsible use of AI into tourism training, helping future professionals understand both the opportunities and risks of AI in tourism services and decision‑making.
• DGI Tourism – Digital, Green and Innovative Approaches for VET Training in Tourism:  Erasmus+ co-funded project equipping tourism professionals with digital, green, and innovation‑driven skills by updating training content and learning approaches to strengthen resilience, competitiveness, and adaptability.
• Career Development Programme, HOSBEC (Hotel and Tourism Business Association of the Valencian Community): strengthening hospitality professionals’ skills through sector‑led training focused on digitalisation, sustainability, and continuous upskilling to support long‑term workforce development.

Stakeholder stories highlight the critical role of education and skills development in enabling the twin (green and digital) transition of the tourism sector.

Key conclusions and emerging trends include:

• Skills gaps remain a common challenge, particularly in digital, sustainability, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies such as AI, requiring continuous adaptation of education and training systems. 
• Vocational education and training are increasingly being updated, with Erasmus+ projects and industry‑led initiatives adapting curricula to better reflect real‑world needs and emerging risks in tourism. 
• Greater emphasis on ethical and responsible use of technology is emerging with training initiatives addressing ethical AI, data protection, and misinformation as essential competences for future tourism professionals. 
• Flexible and innovative learning approaches are gaining traction, including modular training, micro‑credentials, immersive learning technologies, and lifelong learning pathways tailored to tourism professionals.
• Stronger collaboration between education providers and industry is essential, ensuring that training content supports employability, workforce resilience, and the long‑term competitiveness of the tourism sector.