The future of tourism depends on how well small businesses prepare for change. Next GEN Tourism exists to support that preparation and to make succession planning easier to start.
Across Europe tourism relies on small and medium sized enterprises, many of them family owned. These businesses shape visitor experiences, support local employment and give destinations their character. Yet many do not have a clear plan for what happens when the current owner retires or steps back. When there is no plan, communities are at risk of losing services, jobs and heritage. The Next GEN Tourism project was created in response to this reality and promotes earlier, better supported planning.
A generational shift is now underway. Many tourism business owners are reaching retirement age and will need to transfer leadership in the coming years. Without a structured approach to handover, experience can be lost, relationships with suppliers and guests can weaken and long standing businesses can close. The Next GEN Tourism project responds by offering guidance, training and digital tools so that owners and successors can start planning early and avoid crisis decisions.
Succession can be a moment of risk, but it can also be an opportunity for renewal. The next generation often brings new energy, interest in digital tools, focus on sustainability and fresh ideas for services. When succession is supported and gradual, this transition strengthens a business instead of putting it under strain. Through its succession readiness framework and learning resources, the Next GEN Tourism project helps owners and successors see where they stand and what they can do next.
Good planning benefits everyone. Families feel more confident and less stressed. Successors can build skills and leadership experience while the current owner is still present to guide them. Communities keep jobs and services. Destinations remain attractive and authentic. By providing an assessment tool, practical training materials and an online knowledge hub, the Next GEN Tourism project gives businesses, educators and advisors a solid foundation for planning and action.
In simple terms, succession planning is the difference between a story that ends and a story that continues. The Next GEN Tourism project invites tourism businesses and their supporters to begin that planning journey now, while there is still time to pass experience, values and opportunity to the next generation.
Sources:
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC142263
https://www.kfw.de/About-KfW/Newsroom/Latest-News/Pressemitteilungen-Details_795968.html