Recently, Spanish chef José Andrés made a bold statement: “If Spain is a global leader in tourism, gastronomy, and gastronomic tourism…why don’t we have world class Spanish institutions teaching not only the domestic talent, but also attracting foreigners to learn here?”
Some facts:
Spain: Tourism activity reached 97 billion euros in 2021, 8.0% of GDP, which was 2.2 points more than in 2020. Tourism generated 2.27 million jobs, 11.4 % of total employment in the country.
A total of 71.6 million international tourists visited Spain in 2022, spending 87 billion euros, up 86% and 95% respectively compared to 2019. This makes Spain the second most popular tourist destination in the world, after France.
Switzerland: Tourism generates 200.000 employments and represents 2.8% of GDP.
And yet, when one thinks about hospitality schools, first that come to mind tend to be the Swiss ones: Les Roches, Glion, or Lausanne.
What gets measure, gets done used to say an old boss of mine. Let’s see raw numbers:
Les Roches school generates over CHF 100 million in economic activity in Switzerland each year. The study (Friburg Univ.) also found that Les Roches supports over 1,000 jobs in the country.
According to the Swiss Tourism Federation Glion School generates over CHF 50 million in economic activity in Switzerland each year, and the school over 500 jobs in the country.
A 2022 study by the Canton of Vaud found that Lausanne EHL generates over CHF 200 million in economic activity in Switzerland each year. The study also found that Lausanne EHL supports over 2,000 jobs in the country.
Here we see the direct impact a top school can have in a destination. Because it’s not only the lecturers and teachers It’s the students living there who also generate wealth locally. And they are the best prescriptors of the schools, inspiring new generations to follow their path.
So, what stops the Spanish educational institutions to push strongly towards creating a hub of academic and professional knowledge in the country to become, moving forward, a global reference as the Swiss school have been -and stil are-?
There are exceptions such as the Centro Superior de Hostelería de Galicia, The Basque Culinary Centre, or….you guessed it, Les Roches Marbella Campus.
But more needs to happen. That is why, professionals such as Chema Herrero or myself are putting great effort in creating curated content and a new educational platform such as TEDUKA, which motto “To inform, teach and train” says it all.
Our aim is to spread the word, share knowledge and content. Inspire students, reignite the passion into professionals, and add value to create positive impact on the professionals of our industry.
More needs to be done to create awareness about the importance of the industry we work in, and that is so important for the national economy. We all complaint about the dropping number of students in hospitality schools. Less trained young profiles will mean poorer service in the long run. But what are you doing to fix that?
Circling back to José Andrés. He hated seeing people suffer hunger in areas where a natural disaster had occurred. So he set up World Central Kitchen.
In my case, if you don’t mind me sharing:
I’ve been pro-bono mentor for the Fundació Princesa de Girona, Universidad de Alicante and OTOLO, helping professionals find their way in the industry.
I’ve created www.hospitechlity.com, an EdTech platform where students can get to know 40 of the best software tools in the market.
I’ve launched www.revenuegrowth.online , a private community of hospitality revenue managers.
We’ve innovated launching www.formacioncoliving.com, the first coliving-centric postgraduate course that exists.
What about you? Are you being a good leader? are you leading by example? are you walking the talk? Because there is no point on just complaining about the current scenario and the lack of talent. Let’s don something. Together?
Spanish 
English