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Studies

The ICT Tourism sector needs augmented professionals

15 September 2021

HTSI vice-dean, researcher and professor Albert Fornells participated in the webinar “El futuro del talento en TIC Turismo” (The future of talent in ICT Tourism). This webinar was part of the Plan for the Revitalization of the ICT Tourism Cluster.

HTSI vice-dean, researcher and professor Albert Fornells participated in the webinar “El futuro del talento en TIC Turismo” (The future of talent in ICT Tourism). This webinar was part of the Plan for the Revitalization of the ICT Tourism Cluster, an initiative of the Catalan Government’s Direcció General de Turisme i Acció that aims to create a new cluster in the Travel Tech sector in 2021.

Catalonia’s ICT Tourism sector is made up of 371 companies, most of which are SMEs (76%). They employ 9,100 individuals and earn over €1,000 million.

The evolution of the tourism and hospitality industry and perspectives for digital transformation in the short and long term drive the need for an in-depth look at how students should be trained. “We need to think about the skills students will be expected to have in both the tourism sector and other more far-reaching sectors that share synergies”, noted Fornells.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, business intelligence, service robotics, internet of things, 5G or 3D printing are driving a 4th industrial revolution that is just getting started and that we need to prepare for. For the vice dean of HTSI, to train a new generation of professionals and leaders for the tourism sector, we need to broaden the range of skills students develop so that “they become augmented professionals. In other words, professionals with skills, abilities and attitudes that, together with specific training in tourism, give them the ability to face key business tasks, take on complex challenges and, above all, adapt to the constant changes taking place around them. 

As a result, Fornells continued, “the inclusion of skills tied to the comprehension and application of new technologies and the management of projects using agile, high-performance methods will allow us to take advantage of the opportunities provided by new technologies to promote business models in line with the sustainable development goals.”

According to the ICT Tourism cluster, its professionals should receive training that addresses the following challenges: promoting technological trades among professionals from the tourism sector, promoting ongoing training of talent from companies in the sector, promoting female digital talent within the ICT Tourism sector, understanding the evolution of existing and future technology in the sector, and attracting talent from other regions.