1st GE / TF Destination Organizations and Smart Recovery Planning Training - 19 & 20th of April, 10th of May 2021

Supporting Resilient Regrowth for tourism destinations in Greece

A partnership training package of the Travel Foundation and Green Evolution

Overview

With the tourism economy slowly returning and recovery planning from the COVID-19 crisis underway, destinations must develop capacity on management and marketing while targeting a global market that looks very different.

As well as safety considerations, pre-pandemic trends such as sustainability, authenticity and social coherence have accelerated, and will be increasingly important considerations for destinations wishing to attract travellers in the months and years to come.

As those with destination management and promotional responsibilities are tasked to define tourism recovery strategies, it is of critical importance that short-term economic and health/safety priorities are not the exclusive focus, at the expense of resetting visitor economies on a path that maximizes benefits for local communities, better meeting development priorities, adapting to changing market demands and future trends, and paving the way for long-term economic resilience, inclusively, and sustainable, managed growth.

Global tourism NGO, the Travel Foundation has developed a Recovery Plan Framework through a partnership with global destination marketing and management media platform, City Nation Place. This framework has already been tested with many diverse destinations, influencing and informing recovery plans, strategies, and priorities in cities, regions and countries globally.

The Framework helps those tasked with supporting destinations to build resilience and sustainable recovery from the COVID crisis and focuses on practical actions in areas such as: increasing opportunities for community livelihoods, creating strong and resilient local supply chains, prioritising environment and resource protection, and building overall destination management capacities.

Supporting Greek DMMOs to be ‘future fit’

The Travel Foundation together with Green Evolution, have developed a training package to support Greek Destination Marketing and Management Organisations (DMMOs) and other tourism stakeholders to develop their own Destination ‘Roadmap for Success’.

At the heart of the package is a virtual workshop programme, designed around the Travel Foundation’s recovery framework, to equip destination managers with the knowledge and tools they will need to develop, review, and strengthen their destination recovery strategies in critical areas.

The framework will be presented alongside insightful examples from other destinations to inspire and inform Greek actors to develop cutting edge DMMO models and strategies. In addition, the two organizations can offer additional support and expertise to participants, to support them on their journey and help position Greece to become as a recognized global leader in tourism that benefits local communities and the environment.

Training Package Structure

The DMMO training package consists of a virtual training on DMMO structure, operations, and success measures, followed by a virtual workshop focused on Smart Recovery Planning for public sector destination managers across Greece. Participants do not need to have developed a COVID recovery plan to participate.

The training package is based on 3 days program : 2 X training days, 1 X workshop, while the workshop will be dynamic and interactive, encourage idea sharing among participants, and achieve maximum impact through applied learning exercises conducted between the sessions. In detail : 

Session One (19th of April 2021, 11.00 - 16.00 Greek Time): The purpose of this session is to introduce participants to key trends in global tourism and destination management as the sector prepares for COVID-19 recovery, focusing also on sustainable tourism. During the session, a detailed analysis will be presented on good management and marketing practices for destinations, together with international examples and case studies.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the basics of DMMO structures and strategies and investigate their applicability within the new reality of Greek Tourism. Plenty of time will be allowed for questions and discussions on potential approaches for participating destinations.

Session Two (20th of April 2021, 11.00 - 16.00 Greek Time): The purpose of this session is to introduce to the participants the Recovery Framework which will be shared and discussed in detail, together with international examples of good practice. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss potential approaches to integrating the concepts within their own local context. In this Session, each destination or representatives will become familiar with how to create a successful COVID recovery plan and understand the key components which should be included for long-term destination sustainability and resilience.

Applied Learning (3 weeks): After Session two, participants will take away the Framework in the form of a practical workbook, and use is as a basis to develop and/or review their recovery plan or strategy, identifying any gaps or weaknesses. It is suggested that this process is done in collaboration with key destination stakeholders. During this time, there will be virtual ‘get together’ meetings to ask questions and discuss progress.

Session Three (10th of May 2021, 11.00 - 16.00 Greek Time): The purpose of this session is for participants to discuss and share their progress, ‘sense-check’ their plans, and conduct a ‘deeper dive’ into areas identified by participants as needing further support. Identification of synergies between participants for future collaboration around mutual issues will also be explored. Participants will then be in the position to develop or finalise their recovery plans.

Outcome

The training package will be aimed at

• Destination management & marketing organisations members (operational or under development)

• Destinations’ officials (Tourism Councils, Mayors’ Advisors, Consultants, etc)

• Tourism ministry / national tourism organisation officials and personnel

• Sustainability Coordinators in Destinations

• Universities and Students

Participants will have in place a comprehensive knowledge of Destination Management and Marketing, Sustainability, and future tourism trends. Those responsible for developing tourism recovery plans and/or new DMMO structures will have a useful and practical framework to inform their next steps.

Outline of the Training Package Framework

Key thematic areas covered in the framework include:

• Global Tourism Trends

• DMMO Basics, global trends and good practices

• The different models for DMMO in Greek Tourism

• How to create and operate a DMMO

• Sustainability in tourism: from Destination to Certification 

• Financial and other resources to support strategy delivery

• Evidence-based planning & decision-making (data gathering, management and monitoring)

• Stakeholder consultation and cooperation

• Strengthening local value chains + business continuity

• Product development and diversification (including towards development priorities such as social inclusion, accessibility, and equality)

• Infrastructure development and impact management

• Visitor management

• Marketing, promotion, and communications

• Upskilling – improving destination management and value chain capabilities

• Risk management and resilience-building

This training is organized and delivered by THE TRAVEL FOUNDATION & GREEN EVOLUTION SA.

What's Included

As part of your registration, you will have receive training materials to be provided prior to the class; a Certificate of Completion confirming your attendance in the class. The official training language will be English, but there will be the ability for discussions in Greek.

Group Registration Options

You can sign up multiple people at the same time when registering online. Select the number of people you would like register, and you can enter contact details for each participant on the form. We also offer a discount for each group purchase of more than 5 seats. If you would like to sign up as a group of 5 and more, please contact us (info@green-evolution.eu) for more details.

Need-Based Discounts

We offer a limited number of need-based discounts to current students and professionals who demonstrate genuine needs. To apply, please contact us via info@green-evolution.eu .

The Trainers Team

Graeme Jackson, Head of Partnerships, The Travel Foundation

Graeme is the Head of Partnerships for leading global tourism charity, the Travel Foundation. Based out of the Travel Foundation’s headquarters in Bristol, UK, he is responsible for developing and managing international partnerships with destinations, businesses, development agencies and donors to strengthen the organisation’s global work to improve the impacts of tourism on communities and the environment in destinations. 

A trained journalist, Graeme joined the Travel Foundation team in 2011, following a decade in the fields of Public Relations and marketing where he represented and consulted for the private, public and third-sector in sectors as diverse as business finance, wines & spirits, sustainability pharmaceuticals and energy. 

Terry Brown, Destination Programmes Manager, The Travel Foundation

Terry has more than 13 years of experience of working in project management and tourism, including outbound tour consulting and working overseas on numerous international sustainable development projects. Terry is responsible for strategy, implementation, monitoring and reporting of all Travel Foundation programmes, as well as overseeing the personnel management of the Travel Foundation destinations team and trusted consultants.

Dr. Ioannis Pappas, Head of Training, Green Evolution

Dr. Ioannis Pappas serves as the Lead Trainer in Training Partner GREEN EVOLUTION SA, and he is a Accredited Trainer for the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program. In addition, he is Approved Auditor for Hotels and Accommodations for several Certification Bodies.

He is an experienced professional engineer, with over 28 years of work in several fields of science, focusing in Sustainability for Tourism, energy and environmental efficiency in Infrastructure and Buildings, auditing or advising in standardization of companies and technological implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation methodologies. He is active in auditing, consulting and training on all matters of interest to the tourism sector, as Sustainable Tourism Manager by Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence and PM4SD, Auditor for Stars Evaluation of Hotels and Vilas in Greece, Accredited Trainer of Passive House Standard, Accredited Verifier of Airports GHG and European Energy Manager. He also has extensive experience on Project Management as Coordinator and/or Manager in more than 20 National & EU Research Projects, as Certified Auditor of ISO 9001 and 14001 Systems, and as Trained Consultant of ISO 50001 Systems.

Dr. Pappas is a Co-Founder and CEO of GREEN EVOLUTION, a unique Advising Company in Environment, Energy & Carbon Finance in Greece, and has been an active participant member of various international working groups (UNFCCC, CITL, ITL, CEN, TAIEX). He has a Diploma in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a Post-Doc in Applied Mechanics in Energy Applications.

Cancellation Policy : If a registrant is unable to attend, and providing the event organisers are informed via e-mail to info@green-evolution.eu, then the following refund arrangements apply: Registrations cancelled before the 15^th of Feb 2021 will be refunded 50% of the registration fees; Registrations cancelled after the 15^tt of February 2021 will not be eligible for a refund. No refund is possible at any time for the case of failure of a VISA application of the registrant.