Since November 2021, the Department of Tourism is starting the implementation of the project entitled Innovation of the professional training of future tourism experts using a fictitious training hotel (TRAIN-e-HOTEL), which has received Erasmus+ funding within Key Action 2: Cooperation partnerships higher education.

The project team consisting of Ing. Norbert Beták, PhD., PhDr. Zuzana Palenčíková, PhD., Ing. Hana Bieliková, Ph.D., RNDr. PaedDr. Ján Veselovský, Ph.D. and Mgr. Zuzana Sándorová, PhD. will be the coordinator of the project involving further partners from four foreign countries, namely the Silesian University in Opava (Czech Republic), the University of Pannonia in Veszprém (Hungary), the Turíba University in Riga (Latvia), and the University of Salento in Lecce (Italy). The total financial grant received for the implementation of the project is 147,336 EUR.

The aim of the project is to build so-called “fictitious training hotels” (TRAIN-e-HOTELs) in each country, that will serve for the practical training of future tourism experts during the three-year period of the project. The project responds to the dynamically changing and extensive demands of the labour market towards tourism graduates. It also reflects the ongoing processes of globalization and a sustainable approach to providing services in the tourism sector in accordance with the requirements of today’s intelligent and sustainable tourism (tourism 4.0). The project will create favourable conditions for the introduction of new SMART digital technologies in the education of future tourism professionals and will address current challenges in terms of the sustainable development of hotel services, ecological operation of the hotels, as well as of intercultural communication within the international hotel network.

Text: Ing. Norbert Beták, PhD., a PhDr. Zuzana Palenčíková, PhD., Department of Tourism, Faculty of Central European Studies