In your hands (or on your screen) is the first training material in Circular Economy (CE) specifically developed for small to medium sized companies of the tourism industry in the South Baltic Region. It is a small but important step in the direction towards circularity and a wellbeing society. Through this work we have shown that despite cultural challenges and regional differences there is a shared, common interest in making tourism more sustainable and even to work together towards a transformation of the hospitality industry.

The training model was developed and tested to provide an international standard of education for tourism SMEs in the direction of increasing their ability to implement the principles of circular economy in business.

In this work we have featured some of the groundbreaking experts in this field, and some of the first good practices from our regions. They are all courageous pioneers in an approach that with time will become the norm.

The training material may be utilised either as an

• self-study, by individuals, e.g. the owner, manager or the staff responsible for particular areas of a company’s operation (e.g. energy, marketing, supply management, etc.)
• individual workshops for a single company or jointly for a group of interested companies 
• complete training program composed of several or all modules.

 

Journey to the destination: a Circular Tourism Economy – a training program download

 

FOR WHOM

The material focuses on serving tourism SMEs mainly from coastal areas, both from towns and from rural areas, as well as those operating in sustainable tourism or eco-tourism in areas of special touristic value, offering:

• Accommodation services (accommodation sector)
• Food and beverage services for tourists (food and beverage sector)
• SPA facilities (part of wellness tourism) offering packages for groups and individuals.

However, representatives of other companies related to the services sector may find new, interesting knowledge in individual modules that will support their transition to the circular economy, as well as valuable inspiration.

 

WHAT & HOW

The training model was developed and tested to provide an international standard of education for tourism SMEs in the direction of increasing their ability to implement the principles of circular economy in business. The user (trainer, self-learning or during workshops) can navigate a chosen educational path.

We suggest the following paths:

• at the very beginning, the non-technological path provides general knowledge about the circular economy and its prospects in tourism. We show why it is worth and how you can create goodwill based on CE. This path is marked by the way companies (the tourism industry) think about their services, as these services can effectively change in the spirit of future standards expected by customers.
  For this purpose, we also provide support for the design thinking (DT) workshop, which in this case focuses on designing services. We also join this method of modern marketing to indicate how to promote new closed-loop tourism services, but also to involve clients primarily in these activities. Innovations in the business model (BMI) are at the interface of paths. A revolution in the approach to the services offered can also bring reflection in the structure of the organization – what resources do we use, but above all: how? We ask the question: Do we need resources or effects of energy, devices, people? Through this module, we aim to get your own answer to this question.
• the technological path introduces you to the world of energy feeding your companies. It is also a source of costs charged to organizations. The module dedicated to energy efficiency gives the opportunity to rationalize the consumption of gas, electricity, water and other energy carriers – towards greater efficiency and greater independence of the organization from external suppliers.

 

Below is a table over the structure of the training.

 

TITLE	FILE	TRAILER
Starting the Journey to Circular Economy	Starting the Journey… Training material and guide for trainers Starting the Journey… – presentation	Starting the Journey to a Circular Economy
Energy in a Circular Economy	Energy in CE Training material and guide for trainers Energy in CE – presentation	Energy in a Circular Economy
Business Model Innovation for Circular Economy	BMI for CE Training material and guide for trainers BMI for CE – presentation	Business Model Innovation for a Circular Economy
Design Thinking tools for Circular Economy	DT tools for CE Training material and guide for trainers DT tools for CE – presentation	Design Thinking tools for a Circular Economy
Marketing Mix of Circular Services	Marketing Mix of… Training material and guide for trainers Marketing Mix of… – presentation	Marketing Mix of Circular Services