NS34 Workshop 35

 

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Title: Turning generation Z student career aspirations into sound pedagogical solutions

Organisers: Susanna Saari, Carlos Cardoso Ferreira, and Timo Halttunen

Affiliation: Turku University of Applied Sciences, University of Coimbra

Participation: Participants are invited to register at the session beforehand by sending an email to Ms. Susanna Saari (susanna.saari@turkuamk.fi). The qualitative data in focus of the group discussion will be shared upon registration. To enable fruitful discussion, it is recommended that participants familiarise themselves with the key findings.  

 

Description 

Tourism continues to expand globally, yet Nordic countries face persistent challenges in attracting and retaining skilled professionals. Although travellers increasingly seek meaningful and responsible experiences, young people often perceive tourism careers as unstable or misaligned with their values. Applications to tourism and hospitality education have fallen in several Nordic regions, prompting concern that current educational structures—and the career pathways they lead to—do not resonate with Generation Z’s expectations for purposeful, sustainable, and flexible work. 

At the same time, contemporary working life is characterised by fragmentation: temporary contracts, seasonal roles, and diverse personal ambitions shape how young adults envision their professional identities. Higher education institutions (HEIs) occupy a critical intermediary position between these shifting labour‑market realities, students’ values, and the long‑term needs of the tourism sector. Their ability to re‑design curricula based on credible evidence and multi‑stakeholder insight will heavily influence the future relevance of tourism education. 

This session draws on empirical findings from the Erasmus+ TourEdu – The Future of Tourism Education project, which investigates how tourism students describe their dreams, motivations, and expectations related to their future careers. We invite researchers, higher education teachers and industry stakeholders to discuss on an empirical, qualitative data collected from multinational student groups in September 2026 in Finland. The goal is to examine how student aspirations can be translated into pedagogical strategies, and a renewed tourism curriculum that both support personal development and strengthen the sector’s attractiveness.  

How Participants Contribute 

  • Researchers bring analytical frameworks and methodological expertise to interpret student data, identify emerging patterns, and connect workshop insights to ongoing scientific debates around workforce dynamics, youth values, and regenerative tourism. 
  • Higher education teachers contribute pedagogical knowledge and curriculum development experience, helping translate student insights into concrete teaching approaches, learning environments, and program structures. 
  • Industry stakeholders provide practical perspectives on workplace realities, skill needs, organisational cultures, and future employment trends, helping assess how student expectations align—or conflict—with industry trajectories. 

Through joint analysis, participants will collectively explore how education can better support value‑driven career development and how the industry can respond to Generation Z’s evolving expectations. 

Session Process 

The session is structured as an interactive discussion workshop in which all participant groups collaborate in analysing the empirical material. Together, we will identify opportunities for curriculum innovation, workforce development, and cross‑sector collaboration. The insights generated will inform the creation of a teacher guide and support further research on strengthening tourism’ appeal as a responsible and regenerative career pathway. 

Objectives of the Session 

  • Analyse tourism students’ dreams, values, and expectations related to tourism work. 
  • Identify key factors influencing workforce attraction and retention across the sector. 
  • Strengthen collaboration between researchers, educators, and tourism industry actors. 
  • Co‑create a dataset to be further developed into a teacher guide. 
  • Explore how regenerative and responsible tourism can enhance the sector’s appeal among young people. 

Methodological Approach and Session Structure 

  • Presentation of qualitative data from tourism students (15 min) 
    Researchers introduce key themes from the TourEdu dataset. 
  • Interactive small‑group analysis and thematic tasks (45 min) 
    Mixed groups of researchers, educators, and industry representatives analyse excerpts and discuss implications. 
  • Collective synthesis and next steps (20 min) 
    Participants co‑identify curriculum needs, research gaps, and workforce insights. 

Expected Outcomes 

  • A research‑informed understanding of how young people perceive tourism work. 
  • Recommendations for improving workforce attractiveness and aligning education with student values. 
  • A collaboratively generated dataset to be developed into a teacher guide. 
  • A replicable model for interactive, student‑centred educational development.