3. Calendar

3.1 Programme of Work

The objectives, programme of work and outputs have been defined in draft, namely,:

1. List of interested stakeholders
2. Interviews with representative stakeholders
3. First workshop: presentation of the interview-results, discussion regarding the current situation (structure, contents), options and design of a learning area working group
4. Second workshop: discussion about feedback from the stakeholders regarding learning areas handbook, elaboration of concrete working programme for 2005
5. Creation of a working group
6. Setting up of a Tourism Learning Area for the region

3.2. Intended Outputs (by date)

1. List of potential stakeholders June/July 2004
2. Interviews August 2004
3. First workshop September 2004
4. Feedback by the end of October 2004
5. Second workshop until the end of November 2004

3.3. List of Learning Experiences

Evaluation of providers

-> according to sectors

1. Are there main target groups for special offers?
Potential users would like to have interdisciplinary offers - open for all sectors or services. Apart from this interdisciplinary offers, special offers for special tourism services are requested (eg.: ECOCAMPING - campsite branch...)

2. Are they predominant structures regarding range and duration of the offers?
Currently there is a wide variety of offers. Within our limited time for research it was not possible to identify a predominant structure. It seems that one-day offers are predominant.

3. Are there financing oportunties?
Only one offer was financed exclusively by participant' s fees. The remaining offers are cofinanced (between 30% and 60%) by European Commission, national or regional administrations or 100% financed by the provider himself.

4. Which Predominant contents of learning offers exist?
The most frequent contents (5x) refer to general management and quality management. Bookkeeping, environment management, marketing and leisure activities were also named as contents of current offers (4x).

5. Are there any requested additional offers or obstacles?
It was suggested that it would be useful to have learning opportunities which offer nature experience at Lake Constance . Also items such as integrated vacation planning and mobility could be of interest. All stakeholders agree, that tourism professionals should have the chance to experience for themselves learning opportunities related to nature, gastronomy, culture and other sustainability aspects in order to improve knowledge and motivation. Problems such as lack of financial and personnel resources as well as lack of capacity, competence and motivation were considered as obstacles.

6. Preferred structure of the offers?

• More offers with modular structure. Offers outsite the periods of high season (= April - May, July - October, chrismas)
• Organisation: tourism stakeholder should be personally and directly informed by the providers (address data bank). Printed calender with the main offers would be useful.
• Methods: even more practical input, exchange of experience, good facilitation of discussions, more learning by experience (experiencing nature, culture, etc.), more E-learning.
• Costs: should be better calculated than in the past. Higher participation fees are necessary, so that the costs of the offers could be covered without subsidies. On the other hand, potential users have only limited resources. In the case of SME costs of training are very often not covered by the enterprise and need to be covered by the employee himself
• Other remarks: generally the existing structure of the offer is not bad

7. Which learning cooperations or learning networks are there?
Learning Region Bodensee, Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), Berufakademie, UNIVERSITY, ERASMUS-PROGRAM, working group for professional advanced training, Coordination Office "Women and occupation", environmental educational institutions in Constance and Freiburg and such as Rheinaubund, www.expertinnen.de

8. Use of E-media/branch?
There is only one case (woman's-academy) which is using the new electronic media. So far, the majority of the interviewed providers haven't had any experience with e-learning. Internet has been intensely used for research, etc. On the other hand, 50 % of the providers don´t use e-mail to distribute their learning offers.

9. Interest in PLA?
Only two providers are not interested. One organization does not deal exclusively with tourism and the other organisation is very sceptical because of negative experience.

10. Does people know the notion "Sustainable development"? Main subjects?
One of the stakeholders is ISO 9001 certified. EMAS and ECOCAMPING are known. The concept of sustainable development seems to be understood in general, but concrete definitions and criteria are different from one stakeholder to the other. There are no concrete learning offers regarding concrete elements of sustainable tourism development.

11. Other relevant individual results and suggestions?
Considerable importance is attributed to informal learning/exchange of experience. Environment and quality management must be improved. "Sustainability" should be discussed more and should be included into training and information activities.

A innovative and effective learning forum (market-place) should be :

• always actualized, competent, in line with standard usage, in low season
• show perspectives /needs for professional skills in tourism
• represent different providers/networks
• include information systems regarding tourism and soft mobility such as BodenseeClick
• offer backup material
• offer regional knowledge (e.g. training "Lake Constance-Guide") to all staff of tourist information centres and hotel receptions

Evaluation of potential customers demanders

-> according to sectors

1. Are all age groups represented?
People aged 30-44J/ 45-59J frequently, nobody under 20J. or older than 60J.

2. How many "real" tourism profesionals are there?
Up to now 4 tourism profesionals (3 of them are women). 2 women come from a different professional background and have been trained in tourism skills

3. Is there a gender distribution?
Up to now, 10 women and 5 men have been asked

4. Are there any certain sectors with a lot of further education activities/-interests?
For 8 of 15 interviewees further education has a high value (both genders on average) For Tourist Information Centers, further education is considered to be of less importance.

5. Is there any certain accumulation of further education subjects in a sector?
Some courses on the subjects environmental quality/environmental management, bookkeeping and booking systems, as well as quality management have been attended. There are few internal offers attended by the interviewees (one course by a tourism association and one in a museum).

6. Which subjects are generally missing?
Learning offers should be more related to concrete aims and should be more practical. Nature and landscape are elements of learning offers, but offers on nature and landscape protection are needed. Sustainability aspects and especially social aspects are missing. Language courses, especially English for counter staff and staff of hotel receptions would be very useful. Legislation regarding tourism and travel (for example regarding all-inclusive tours) and marketing research (for example expectations of potential target groups) would be useful.

7. Is there any prefered structure of the offers?
Courses should take place only in low season (campsites: winter) and should not be longer than one day. They should take place in the region. Practice orientation and exchange of experience are important. Workshops and a lot of time for discussions are requested. A participation fee is acceptable, but it should be low. Gender-specific offers are never required.

8. How do people know about the offers ?
Main information source is the Association (via Internet and newsletter for members) Apart from the association, the potential customer is informed by other colleagues (7x), by media (6x) and also by chance (6x).

9. What is about the use of new communication methods?
Video conferences are never used, E-learning hardly (only 3x). Internet and E-mail are used equally intensively or average.

10. Which networks in which sectors exist?
People are familiar with networks like Lake Constance-Guides, Tourism Untersee (TU) Counter Education, the association of Tourismus Untersee in general, distance university Hagen, Industrie- und Handelskammer (Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Deutsches Seminar für Tourismus, information pool to subjects years.
There is the following participation in networks: Lake Constance-Guides, Learning administration, Tourism Untersee.

11. Is there any interest in PLA?
9 of the interviewed persons are interested in the PLA. 3 persons are not interested without explaining the reasons.

12. Is the notion "sustainable development" known? What are the main subjects?
Few of the interviewed stakeholders have heard about EMAS and ISO-certifications. Elements mainly named: protection of the landscape, cooking with organic food, tourism guidelines of Tourismus Untersee, nature protection, culture.

13. Has further education something to do with age?
Seems not, all age groups take part of advanced training and learning.

14. Does the use of E-learning depend on the age of the target group?
There are hardly any visible coherences. Use of mail and Internet in all age groups, mail slightly more frequently with younger ones.

15. Are there any gender-specific differences in the wishes for PLA-region?
No. Generally the preference for exchange and improved communication is visible.

16. Are there any gender-specific differences in informal learning?
Informal learning is respected generally as very important, no apparent differences.  

17. Other relevant results?
Bodensee-Guide training programme was critizised.

Lack of financial resources for tourism training and coordination. Economic importance of tourism is very often neglected by the administration and by organisations such as Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Tourism is still not recognized as an economic sector. Resources for coordination and training dont reflect the economical importance of tourism in the region.
For campsites advanced training courses are feasible only in winter, for other potential customers also only in the low season.
Individual enteprise analyse could help to change attitudes towards ecological and economical sustainability. Training programes in working groups such as Ecocamping and Konvoi-Programme for EMAS in Baden-Württemberg are very useful (lower costs, exchange of experience etc.).
Specific further education possibilities for tourism associations are missing.
Data bank /Web site with all education offers in tourism classified by sectors and items would be useful, as well as publication of results of symposia and other learning events.