Not just talking to each other, working together.
It was a long road to ride before the 3rd complementary study trip in the HOGAVET-project of DEHOGA Brandenburg to partners of the Spanish TourX knowledge triangle could be successfully completed.
When we planned the project, we were sure that we would only have to talk to develop new cooperation offers, as defined in our project work packages. Sometimes suggestions are easy to make, but implementation is more complicated or sometimes even impossible.
Now we met TourX partners from ASOFUER, the employers' association of the hotel industry on Fuerteventura, the regional advisory board CABILDO and colleagues from the Escuela Hosteleria Europea Gran Canaria to jointly set new impulses for our work.
ASOFUER has been representing the interests of the island’s hotel industry since 2015.
The tourism industry is the most important economic engine and faces major challenges in creating the foundations for the further successful development of the well-known holiday island, now and in the future. In this respect, the focus of DEHOGA in Brandenburg and ASOFUER is quite comparable.
While the former are trying to raise the profile of the destination and the hotel industry to increase visitor numbers and occupancy rates, the latter are fighting to keep their member companies’ occupancy rates from falling and at the same time a sustainable tourism development guaranteed.
Regardless of the location, the focus is always on quality assurance of services, sustainable processes, digitalisation, employee recruitment and retention, and qualified new talent for the industry.
The starting points for exchanging experiences and discussions were quickly found.
Whether visiting the regional vocational training centre IES in Puerto del Rosario or touring hotels, holiday resorts and allinclusive resorts in the north and south of the island, the programme was tightly packed but very well thought out. This enabled the participants to compare different tourism concepts. The advantages
and disadvantages of different business and educational models were discussed and compared with the different regional conditions.
However, it was not just about describing the challenges the associations face. The main objective was to find out how further cooperation can be developed for mutual benefit.
DEHOGA Brandenburg, ASOFUER and EHE each signed a joint ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ that sets out the framework for cooperation in the coming years for mutual benefit.
The partners agreed to deepen the mutual exchange of information, develop an internship exchange programme for young professionals in the industry and jointly prepare workshops for the further training of industry professionals.
In May of this year, our Spanish colleagues will visit Brandenburg as part of the Tour-X project to see for themselves the current development that companies in the
Brandenburg hospitality industry is undergoing.
Every step in the further development of international cooperation between DEHOGA Brandenburg and the colleagues of the TourX consortium offers opportunities. However, they can only be utilised with joint commitment.
