Tourism is the third largest sector of the global economy accounting for approximately 7% of global trade (UN, 2020). Many countries worldwide are highly dependent on the tourism sector as it can represent over 20% of their GDP (UN, 2020). With the Covid-19 outbreak, the sector faced an unprecedented shock as international tourism declined rapidly by almost 70% in 2020 (UN, 2020). As a result, economies, services and livelihoods were impacted and millions of direct employee’s jobs in the tourism sector at stake. The European Federation of Tourism Guide Associations’ (FEG) study (May 2020) revealed tourist guides across the EU as one of the hardest-hit due to the pandemic.

The UN policy briefing, announced in August 2020, highlights the necessity of restructuring the tourism sector shifting it towards sustainability and inclusive green growth taken also into consideration the pandemic-induced recession. 

It envisions the harmonisation of innovation and digitization, while embracing the society, through 5 priorities, including boosting competences and digitalisation of the tourism ecosystem. Further to this, the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (2020) sets ambitious, quantitative objectives for upskilling and reskilling to be achieved within the next 5 years and sets them as a priority for a sustainable recovery after the pandemic. The Pact identifies tourism as one of the four priority sectors.

A tourist guide is an area-specific profession, always related to a country/region/city. Professional tourist guides are qualified for theory and practice. Life-Long Training & Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is always needed by tourist guides around the world to update their skills and knowledge in guided tours (FEG). In connection with this, changing customer preferences force tourist guides and agents to shape new tourism models by introducing locally diversified and customised touristic solutions. Tourists are expected during and after the covid-19 pandemic to show preference in individual or small group guiding rather than larger groups, as well as guiding in open spaces (Joint Research Centre, 2020). Tourist guides upskilling and reskilling in nature-related tours, such as  Geological tours, is now needed more than ever.

Geotourism is a thematic touristic area that is now being discovered and attracts the interest of many tourists. It is an ‘alternative’ type of rural tourism that is motivated by the experience, knowledge and enjoyment of geodiversity and geoheritage. It is mainly promoted in the areas that have been designated by UNESCO as World Geoparks, as well as, in areas of special or recognized ecological, cultural and man-made interest. A few out of its many benefits, it enhances the geographical character of a place, provides education to the effects of natural disasters and climate change and stimulates the local-economic activities of an area. The authentic local character and environmentally friendly  approach is the kind of experience that nature attracted tourists seek nowadays.

The project idea derived following an online focus group that was carried out in the form of a casual online thematic chat where a number of tourist guides and agencies of the project’s partner countries participated. The focus group aiming to investigate the impact of Covid-19 on the tour guides& agents’ professions, opportunities to overcome those impacts and current trends in tourism in each country.