Article by Momentum Consulting

During the Global pandemic with more and more countries in lockdown, we are learning more about our localities and what they have to offer. We may have overlooked these attractions before as we were able to travel freely and only saw our areas as a place to live and not a place that is interesting and full of attractive opportunities for enterprise. Places of local interest and history, places of natural beauty, local festivals and even local sporting events such as horse-riding or surfing can be developed into a fantastic tourist opportunity.

This means that now is the perfect time to start looking for new career opportunities in your locality. We can look at ways to enhance our areas through the promotion of its local historical interests, natural wonder and festivals. We can instil pride in our communities which in turn, enrich the lives of our neighbours. We can boost the local economy and create jobs.

European Youth Roots has developed a clear and decisive strategy to raise awareness, improve and diversify sustainable tourism services and to promote the involvement of young people in the field of sustainable, inclusive and responsible tourism.

‘Sustainable tourism is the tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities’. Wikipedia.com

‘Responsible tourism is tourism which: minimizes negative social, economic and environmental impacts. generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host communities. improves working conditions and access to the industry. sustainabletourism.net’

‘Inclusive Tourism is about reducing uncertainty around what to expect from a destination or service. It’s about creating an environment where all people feel welcome and included. It creates choice and instils confidence in all people, empowering them to sign up for new experiences’ tourismschool.com

European Young Roots resources show you how you can build a business that contributes to the local economy and economies as it should, in responsible, sustainable and inclusive ways. This should be automatically an integral part of any company or country’s tourism agenda. For example

• how you can integrate local producers of goods and services into the overall value chain
• how to ensure destinations and experiences are accessible and inclusive to people with disabilities
• how to cater to your guests needs better e.g. senior travellers, travellers with medical conditions or impairments (mental health conditions, or invisibly visually impaired)
• how to share your information in multiple different languages so your guests can interpret and understand your experience or tour better. You could be losing out on a third of your potential market.
• how to reflect and assess the customer journey so that all their needs are considered, from booking their trip, arriving in your destination to getting around during their stay. Find out what solutions are available and how you can adapt your online and offline environments.
• learn how to change attitudes, build a culture, break down social barriers and make the overall tourism industry more inclusive.

It starts with getting to know your customers better and learn how you provide for each of their individual needs. European Young Roots has multiple resources, case studies and content that will demonstrate how you can do this effectively as a start-up, SME or larger business or region.