The development and dissemination of training materials for students as well as professionals in the rural tourism accommodation sector is mainly taken place on an ad-hoc and local basis. Too often the wheel is reinvented. No overview is available of existing training materials. Furthermore there is hardly a structural co-operation between networks of entrepreneurs' organisations and training institutes. Available resources are thus not used effectively having a serious impact on the quality and availability of training and education. There is a strong need for a European approach.
The EU Leonardo Da Vinci project “hospitality in Rural Tourism” is promoting more co-operation in Europe in the field of Rural Tourism Training by:
- Inventory and linking up of existing experiences
- Developing common European curricula and standards for training of rural tourism accommodation providers
- Promotion of a European certificate for rural tourism training
- Common development of training materials
- Exchange of existing training materials
- Creation of a permanent network of organisations and individuals working in rural tourism training
