“It is essential to retain talent in the wide range of professional profiles making up human capital in the tourism industry, in businesses and in destinations to address challenges such as digitalisation, designing innovative experiences, coping with changes in demand and tourist satisfaction,” said Salvador Anton Clavé, director of Eurecat’s Department of Tourism Innovation and professor of Regional Geographical Analysis at Rovira i Virgili University. He was speaking at the ‘Managing talent in the tourism industry’ conference which he opened together with Marta Farrero, director of Tarragona Provincial Council’s Tourist Board.
“Talent is the real driver of innovation and change,” added Meritxell Roigé, chair of Tarragona Provincial Council’s Tourist Board. “Whether they are public or private, organisations need to secure this asset if they hope to be competitive. This is even more evident in the tourism industry which is constantly changing and where competitiveness calls for a transformational, open and creative outlook.”
The ‘Managing talent in the tourism industry’ conference was held online this Tuesday and Wednesday. It was hosted by the Tourism Innovation and Intelligence Laboratory in Eurecat’s Tourism Innovation Department and Tarragona Provincial Council’s Tourist Board in Costa Daurada and Terres de l’Ebre.
“The tourism industry needs to make headway in many areas to clearly position itself as an even more attractive industry,” suggested Xavier Martin Canals, the founder and CEO of Turijobs, in his breakdown of the key factors and trends for finding talent in the post-Covid-19 era. “And fortunately it has the resources to do just that.” He listed the current trends in human capital management which “are shifting towards the search for talent with leadership, empathy and a digital profile.”
Attracting employees in tourism was the topic of the talk given by people expert and HR freak Ana Pombo, who pointed out that it “involves building a strong brand which staff feel identified with and want to work for.” Her tips for businesses and organisations looking to attract talent and become market leaders are “to make sure that remuneration is not an issue which concerns employees and to inspire them with a unique proposition.”
The conference featured two panel discussions. At the first held on Tuesday, Imma Estivill, chair of PIMEC Training and Employment; Alex Ríos, co-founder and CEO of Happyforce; Cristina Andrés Andino, Head of Human Resources at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium & Conference Center, and Jordi Jardí, director of the Cambrils School of Hospitality and Tourism, unpacked the challenges and opportunities of human capital management in tourism under the moderation of Ignacio de las Cuevas, manager of the CoE in Tourism Innovation.
Meanwhile, in the second panel discussion Roberto Torregrosa, chair of the Catalan Association of Tourism Professionals and director of Guitart Hotels; Xavier Pérez, HR director of Càmping Sangulí Salou, and Àlvaro de Viguera, Senior People Business Partner Spain at La Roca Village, shared strategies for attracting and managing people in tourism in a conversation moderated by Jesús Angla, assistant dean and head of internship management in the Faculty of Tourism and Geography at Rovira i Virgili University.
Practical tourism workshop on talent management in tourism
The LABIIT Tourism Workshop ‘Tools for talent management in the tourism sector’ is to be held in June in order to explore in greater depth the key tools and resources for managing people and projects to enhance talent in the tourism industry and work on how to foster professional empowerment and cohesive work teams.
Led by business psychologist and consultant Xavier Plana, places are limited and prior registration is required. The Tourism Workshop will take place in the morning on 9 June with a session for the Costa Daurada to be held at the URV’s Faculty of Tourism and Geography followed on 10 June by a session in Terres de l’Ebre at the Museum of Tortosa.
It will look at issues such as tools to target career development in tourism, strategies to enhance individual and professional responsibility and the resources and instruments available for managing people and projects geared towards performance and excellence in the tourism industry.
