Across Europe, many tourism businesses have been built over decades.
Hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and other tourism SMEs often depend on years of experience, trusted customer relationships, local knowledge and strong connections with suppliers and communities. In many cases, these businesses are also family run and have become part of the identity of the destinations in which they operate.
But what happens when the person who built that business is ready to step away?
Recent figures from Austria show just how significant this challenge is becoming.
According to Austria’s Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism, up to 7,900 accommodation and gastronomy businesses are expected to face a business transfer between 2020 and 2029. These businesses account for around 15 percent of all anticipated business transfers in Austria during this period.
While this is an Austrian figure, the issue it highlights is relevant across Europe.
Thousands of tourism SME owners are approaching retirement or considering the next stage of their business. For many, the question is no longer whether succession will become necessary, but how prepared they are when the time comes.
https://www.bmwet.gv.at/Themen/Tourismus/tourismusfoerderungen/betriebsuebergaben.html?
It can be tempting to think of succession simply as transferring a business from one owner to another.
In reality, successful succession involves much more.
A tourism business can carry years of knowledge about customers, suppliers, local markets, seasonal demand, staffing, pricing and day to day operations.
Owners often hold much of this knowledge personally.
They may know which suppliers can be relied upon during busy periods, which customers return year after year, how seasonal changes affect bookings, or how relationships within the local community help the business operate successfully.
These are valuable business assets, even if they do not appear on a balance sheet.
If succession is rushed, this knowledge can be lost.
That can make the transition more difficult for the new owner and can affect employees, customers and the wider local tourism economy.
Another challenge is that succession does not always follow the traditional route of passing a family business from one generation to the next.
Austrian research shows that 56 percent of owners planning a transfer expected the business to remain within the family, while 20 percent expected an external transfer.
For some owners, the successor may not yet be clear.
Younger family members may have different career plans or may not want to take responsibility for the business. In other cases, a trusted employee, external entrepreneur or new management structure may become part of the solution.
This means succession planning also requires honest conversations.
Who wants to take over?
What skills will they need?
What knowledge must be transferred?
What changes might the business require?
And how can both the outgoing owner and the successor be supported through the process?
These questions take time to answer.
Succession works best when it is treated as a process rather than a single event.
A well planned transition gives the outgoing owner time to prepare the business, identify a suitable successor, transfer responsibilities gradually and address any financial, legal or organisational issues.
It also gives the successor time to understand the business and develop confidence.
This preparation can be particularly important within tourism SMEs, where personal relationships and practical experience often play a major role in day to day operations.
Starting early can also help owners look at the business more objectively.
Is the business financially sustainable?
Are responsibilities clearly documented?
Could the business operate without the current owner?
Are important relationships held by one person?
Does the next generation have the right skills?
These are questions that can reveal important gaps long before the actual handover takes place.
The challenge highlighted by the Austrian figures is exactly what NextGEN Tourism is working to address.
NextGEN Tourism aims to strengthen succession readiness across the European tourism sector by helping tourism SMEs, successors, VET educators and business advisors prepare for business transfer in a more structured and practical way.
The project recognises that succession knowledge should not be something businesses only seek when retirement is approaching.
Instead, succession planning should become part of good business management.
Through the project, partners are developing practical educational resources that support this approach.
The Succession Readiness Competence Framework identifies the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to prepare for successful business transfer.
The modular training resources will help tourism SME owners, successors and educators understand the different parts of the succession process, from leadership and communication to financial planning and business continuity.
The Digital Succession Readiness Assessment Tool will allow businesses to reflect on their current level of preparedness and identify where further action may be needed.
The NextGEN Tourism Knowledge Hub will bring together project resources alongside additional guidance, examples and learning materials, creating a long term source of support for tourism businesses and the organisations that work with them.
Together, these resources are designed to make succession planning easier to understand and easier to begin.
Business succession also has a wider impact.
When a long standing tourism SME closes because no successor has been found, a community may lose more than a single business.
Jobs can disappear.
Local suppliers can lose customers.
Visitors can lose businesses that have helped shape their experience of a destination.
Knowledge built over many years can be lost.
This is why succession planning is also connected to the long term resilience of tourism destinations.
Keeping viable tourism SMEs operating helps maintain local employment, entrepreneurship, services and community identity.
It also gives the next generation the opportunity to build on existing experience while introducing new ideas, technologies and ways of working.
The Austrian figures provide a strong reminder that succession is already happening across Europe.
For tourism SMEs, the most important question may therefore be a simple one:
If you stepped away from your business tomorrow, how ready would it be to continue without you?
NextGEN Tourism is working to help more businesses answer that question with confidence.
By encouraging earlier planning, stronger knowledge transfer and better succession skills, the project aims to support tourism businesses through change and help ensure that valuable businesses continue into the next generation.