2012-1-TR1-LO05-35140

BACKTONATURE—Training of Trainers on Rural Tourism is a LdV-ToI project with a running time of November 2012-2014.

In the recent years, tourism has been an important driver of the Europe economy. It is expected that the demand for new and alternative tourism related activities will expand further in the coming years, by means of liberalisation of transportation and new technologies which helped the disconnected people from various regions of the world to become part of the information society. While tourism has an essential place in the integration of the economies of European regions and in the enhancement of their cultural and natural resources, it also represents one of the main sources of income and employment in Europe. Today more than 9 million people are employed in EU hotels, restaurants and the catering sector. It is forecasted that labour demand in the tourism sector will increase by 1% annually in the coming years, as it was in the recent years. A similar trend is also valid for Turkey. These explain why employment is at the top of EU policy maker’s priority actions in tourism.

Alternative tourism trends, such as rural tourism, are in the priorities of the EU policy makers as well. The need for skill development and thus vocational trainings for human resources in the arising alternative tourism trends are increasing every day.

The main objective of BACKTONATURE is to contribute to an increase in quality and variety of training on rural tourism and to upgrade knowledge and capacities of VET teachers, trainers and tutors with a European perspective, combining the relative strength brought by each partner country.

To achieve this goal;

·         VET teachers, trainers and tutors will be trained on rural tourism to provide a better dissemination and valorisation of project outputs which are training modules about rural tourism,
·         The computer literate entrepreneurs and managers who will invest in the tourism business will be trained,
·          Best practices and expertise will be transferred between partners,
·         Dialogue among trainers from partner countries will be generated,
·         Awareness, especially at rural areas where there exists highland tourism potential will be created.

Partners from four different countries (AT, BG, LV, and TR) will create a complete course material on rural tourism by adapting the former project results and will deliver it on-line to the target group. This material will ensure developed human resources and improved capacity in rural tourism, together with multiplier effect brought about by dissemination of the innovative training methodology to the potential users.