Tourism businesses

Photographs of people working in a hotel, restaurant and cafe, as an air hostess and a ski instructor. The logos for "European Commission" and "European Year of Skills" appear.

Boost your workforce and embrace the future of tourism

Small and large businesses play a crucial role in attracting workers to the tourism sector. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to offer continuous professional training, better working conditions, competitive salaries, and create an inclusive environment for their employees. There are various EU tools and initiatives that can help you boost your job offers and find the perfect match for your needs.

A photograph of Patrizia Patti, the founder and managing director of EcoMarine Malta

EU labour law

Employers in tourism must comply with the rules set out by EU employment laws, which cover things like

terms of employment
rules on fixed-term and part-time work
flexible working
equal treatment
reasonable accommodation and more.
EU countries have collectively agreed to the 2030 headline targets set in the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.

This commitment includes 2 crucial targets related to employment: at least 78% of people aged 20 to 64 should be employed, and at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year.

EURES

Find the appropriate candidate within the over 1 million CVs available via EURES and increase your visibility on the European market.

EURES has a wide range of free services for employers looking for international recruits.

Tourism transition pathway

The transition pathway is a plan jointly created by the Commission and tourism actors to achieve the green and digital transitions and long-term resilience of the sector.

Large and small companies across Europe are urged to be at the forefront of change in the sector and submit their concrete pledges for action.

Pact for skills

The Pact for Skills aims to get public organisations and businesses together and encourage them to make concrete commitments to upskilling and reskilling adults. See how your business can join the Pact and its large-scale partnership in tourism.

One project under the Pact for Skills is TOURing, which aims to enhance the green and digital skills of small tourism businesses. Another initiative, Pacts4All, coordinates the efforts of training providers in tourism.

European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA)

EAfA unites key stakeholders with the aim of strengthening the quality, supply and overall image of apprenticeships across Europe, while also promoting the mobility of apprentices.

SMEs across Europe can join the alliance to improve their apprenticeship offers.

Digital tools and practices

This inventory comprises digital tools and practices submitted by tourism SMEs, destinations and other stakeholders.

It aims to support them in their digitalisation journey.

Tourism Business Portal

The Tourism Business Portal is for SMEs within the EU tourism private sector.

It informs tourism SMEs on relevant topics related to the industry and presents several webinars to take your business further.

Guide on EU funding for tourism

This regularly updated online guide highlights the wide range of EU funding programmes to support tourism businesses in the shift to a more digital, sustainable and inclusive union.

COSME Data Hub

Discover past EU programmes for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) projects by searching for terms like ‘tourism’ in the COSME data hub.

Get inspired for a project of your own!

Tourism Skills Lab toolkit

Designed by the EU-funded Next Tourism Generation Alliance, this toolkit allows businesses to find employees that match their needs. It also allows them to compare candidate profiles to their requirements and find out about training possibilities.