From idea to European competition format
The second edition of the NextGen Hospitality Trophy took place in Rovigo, Italy, from January 20 to 22, 2026.
Building on the experience gained from last year’s competition, the format was further developed and refined in terms of content.
The aim of the second NextGen Hospitality Trophy was to translate previous experience into a more professional, scalable, and didactically clearly structured competition architecture.
This competition have shown how an idea can be transformed step by step into a learning experience for the next generation of industry professionals.
The first NextGen Hospitality Trophy already made clear the potential of a transnational, skills-oriented professional competition. At the same time, areas for improvement became apparent – particularly with regard to on-site organization, team composition, the evaluation system, and the representation of real-life professional situations. These experiences formed the basis for the second edition. The competition was more strongly aligned with clearly defined learning outcomes and positioned as a new learning and development space within the European Erasmus+ network of participating partner organizations.
A key innovation was the consistent work in mixed international teams.
Participants from TourX partners in Greece, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Portugal were invited. This team constellation placed high demands on communication, coordination, and intercultural competence, but at the same time reflected realistic working conditions in an increasingly international hospitality industry. The teams were able to hold their own convincingly in this challenging environment.
With a high level of commitment, technical expertise, and a professional demeanor, the aspiring chefs, hotel and restaurant specialists, and tourism professionals successfully presented their achievements to the jury. The participants demonstrated that they not only have solid technical knowledge from their previous vocational training, but are also able to apply it in competitive conditions and in international teams.
The second NextGen Hospitality Trophy in Rovigo thus marks an important step in raising the profile of the format. The competition is increasingly seen as a transferable European model that will enable all participating organizations to act as hosts themselves in the future. The clearly formulated learning outcomes, the practical tasks, and the international cooperation already form a solid foundation for this.
The experience gained in Rovigo is now being incorporated into the further development of the competition, with the aim of combining excellence, mobility, and skills development in this professional competition on a long-term basis and across Europe. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the third NextGen, which is being prepared in Fuerteventura with TourX partner ASOFUER.
The NextGen Hospitality Trophy is thus evolving from its previous pilot format into a sustainable instrument of European vocational training in the hospitality and tourism industry.
