Securing the Future of European Tourism SMEs: Highlights from Our 2026 Transnational Partner Meeting

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the heart and soul of Europe’s tourism industry. Yet, one of the biggest challenges facing the sector today is ensuring smooth business succession—passing the torch to a new generation of entrepreneurs who can keep these vital businesses thriving.

On July 21st, 2026, the Next GEN Tourism consortium gathered for our latest Transnational Project Meeting. It was a energized day filled with rich discussion, strategy alignment, and shared progress as we reflect on how far we've come—and map out where we are headed next.

What We Accomplished & Discussed

During our meeting, partners from across Europe reviewed key deliverables designed to build practical tools and learning resources for tourism SMEs and successors:

• Finalizing the Competence Framework & Curriculum: We reviewed the latest iterations of our foundational framework, ensuring that the skill sets, leadership qualities, and modern competencies needed for modern business succession are fully addressed.
• Building Practical Tools: We took a deep dive into the ongoing development of three core assets:
  • The Training Package: Tailored learning modules built to bridge skill gaps for emerging tourism leaders.
  • The Succession Readiness Assessment Tool: An intuitive diagnostic tool designed to help current owners and incoming successors evaluate their readiness for a seamless business transfer.
  • The Knowledge Hub: A central repository of resources, best practices, and insights to guide SMEs through every stage of succession.
• Work Package Alignment: Each lead partner provided progress reports, allowing us to streamline cross-border coordination and ensure our timelines remain sharp.
• Laying the Groundwork for Dissemination: We mapped out the next strategic steps to bring these tools directly into the hands of SME owners, educators, and regional policy stakeholders across Europe.

Powered by Strong European Collaboration

A project like Next GEN Tourism relies on diverse perspectives and localized expertise. A huge thank you goes out to all of our partner organizations for their dedication, insight, and hard work:

• University of Akureyri
• MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® & MCI Tourism
• Momentum Educate + Innovate
• thevisionworks - tvw GmbH
• Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia
• Gairmeach Training Ltd

By combining academic research, instructional design, regional development expertise, and industry insights, our partnership is ensuring that the resources we create are both practical and impactful.

What’s Next?

As we move into the next phase of the project, our focus shifts toward fine-tuning these digital tools, gathering feedback from pilot tests, and rolling out our dissemination activities across our partner regions.

Stay tuned to our news channels for upcoming announcements, tool releases, and opportunities to get involved!

The Next GEN Tourism project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.