The Erasmus+project RURALTOUR: A Training Programme for Sustainable Rural Tourism (2020-1-TR01-KA202-092185) was a Strategic Partnerships/Cooperation Partnerships (Key Action 2) project under the Erasmus+ program, granted by the National Erasmus+ Turkish Agency with €238.679,00. The project lasted from 31/12/2020 to 30/12/2022. Unfortunately, the Project website https://www.ruraltour.net/ is discontinued.
The main goal of the RURALTOUR project was to contribute to the sustainable rural tourism targets at the European level by developing the skills of business owners, managers, employees, VET students, and potential entrepreneurs in the rural tourism sector through an innovative and easily accessible training method. In order to contribute to this goal, preparation of rural tourism sector report, training material, e-learning program, set of good practices, e-learning program mobile applications, and various training activities were carried out for the stakeholders in the rural tourism sector.
The international partnership brought together 8 organizations across 6 European countries, combining academic, institutional, and industry expertise:
- Ortahisar Municipality / Trabzon (Türkiye), the project coordinator.
- University of Almería (Spain).
- Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Romania).
- Federturismo Confindustria (Italy).
- Latvian Country Tourism Association “Lauku Cēlotājs” (Latvia).
- Momentum Marketing Services Limited (Ireland).
- Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism (Türkiye).
- Akçaabat Atatürk Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School (Türkiye).
They had different backgrounds, from local and regional institutions to universities, VET providers, and tourism business associations, which ensured a strong partnership that allowed to have different approaches to the project topic.
The starting point of the project was the lack of trained human resources in the rural tourism sector at both businesses’ owner level and employees level, thus the partners aimed at providing training for the people working in rural tourism sector in order to gain new skills, to strengthen their personal development and to increase employment opportunities. Thus, up-skilling the sector –enhancing the digital and sustainable management competencies of micro-entrepreneurs and staff operating in rural tourism–, fostering entrepreneurship –providing practical learning tools for potential investors and vocational education students in tourism–, and providing flexible learning opportunities –establishing a remote-learning environment featuring interactive, open-access educational content– were the main project objectives.
The project had the following outputs:
- Rural tourism sectoral report. Comprehensive analysis identifying training needs and skill gaps across target countries.
- Training program & courseware. Tailored curriculum focused on sustainability, digital transformation, and business management. It developed for training VET school students and employees, business owners, managers of hotels, restaurants, entertainment centres operating in the rural tourism sector, and potential entrepreneurs.
- E-learning platform. Open-access online hub hosting digital course materials and interactive resources available through the project website.
- Mobile applications. Learning apps engineered for accessible, bite-sized learning on mobile devices.
- Good practice guide. Collection of inspiring European case studies and sustainable business models in rural tourism.
Wrapping up, RURALTOUR successfully equipped rural tourism micro-enterprises with free, adaptable digital tools, bridging the skill gap in remote areas. It also strengthened cross-border networks among local authorities, educational institutions, and private industry players. Were you unable to access the materials produced by the project but would like to do so now? Do you think this is an interesting initiative? Would you like more information about projects like this? Check out our blog, follow us on social media and leave us your comments. We’re delighted to bring you agritourism-related content. See you in the next #AGRI&TOUR blog post!
