Background

The European Union Experience

Through the Lisbon Agreement, the European Union has declared its intent to establish itself as a 'knowledge-based' economy, looking to develop Information Communications Technology (ITC) throughout its Member States as a means of delivering a competitive edge to is businesses and workforce. Information has become the principle ingredient of every successful economic endeavour, and the means and media in which information is exchanged is of paramount importance. Furthermore The EU Sustainable Development Strategy, the Cardiff process of environmental integration, and the 'Europe of the Regions' of the European Cohesion process, are used as policy guidance for structural fund investment to leverage increased regional development. to promote the eEuropean economy capable of counter balancing its global partners.

In these approaches, It is widely recognised that at the regional level, both natural and human resources can be more effectively managed though partnerships between public administrations, businesses, and local communities. Increasingly, with the awareness that careful use of natural resources is only one part of the story of economic success, attention has turned to the management of 'human capital' or human potential in the 21st Century.

Although Members States have made considerable efforts to reform and adapt their lifelong learning systems to the knowledge-based economy, the changes made are still not sufficient to meet the challenge. Evidence strongly suggests that in order to create and maintain a minimum level of knowledge-intensive employment, a region must first build up a critical mass of workers with a wide variety of skills. The Community has for many years organised networks linking universities, training institutions and businesses within and between regions and more recently has made efforts to establish networks of 'learning regions'.
A New Partnership for Cohesion EU 2004 P117

Learning Regions

The move to implement the concept of Learning Areas for the Tourism Sector stems from this debate on human potential, in which the process of learning is seen as the key to improving our individual and collective performance, both at work and with regard to social and environmental issues. DG Education and Culture developed the idea via the European Centre of the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) as Learning Regions or Learning Communities , which are now being established through the R3L (Regional Life Long Learning) Initiative.

In 2001, t he Commission communication Working together for the future of European tourism ( developed by DG Employment and DG Enterprise) focused on how t o improve training in order to upgrade skills in the tourism industry, where the issues of:

1. attracting, retaining and developing skilled labour
2. supporting micro-enterprises to improve competitiveness
3. ensuring destination quality in an expanding and global market

were seen as causing difficulties for tourism stability and growth throughout Europe .

A Roadmap of the European Commission's Tourism Learning Area Process.

Currently, in the course of the Handbook development, Tourism Learning Areas have been piloted in seven different countries. Also, many examples of good practice exist from similar initiatives in which partnerships and networks have been created, in particular within the framework of the R3L initiative (Life Long Learning in Learning Regions), the Innovative Regions Network, and the multitude of regional sectoral entrepreneurial and educational developments that seek to coordinate different actors towards meeting common goals via information exchange and networking.