Module 01
The Stay
Accommodation & hospitality strategies
Run a coastal accommodation business: guest experience, seasonality, quality standards and hospitality operations.
The project
Learning coastal tourism by running it
CoastalPro (Sep 2023 – Aug 2026) is an EMFAF Blue Careers project that transforms coastal tourism through game-based learning: the CoastalPro ACADEMY, the gamified QUEST platform, open training cohorts and a next-generation skills framework.
Why CoastalPro
Coastal and maritime tourism dominates the EU Blue Economy — 32.7% of its gross value added and 53.1% of its employment — yet traditional models strain natural resources, erode cultural heritage and offer seasonal, low-quality jobs. Under the EMFAF “Blue careers for a sustainable blue economy” call, CoastalPro invests in skills-based tourism education combining digital literacy, entrepreneurship and eco-friendly practice across Mediterranean and outermost coastal regions.
Instead of reading about coastal tourism, learners operate it on the QUEST platform: they price a stay, design an excursion, manage risk on a water sports activity, protect a fragile beach, build a brand and balance the books. By 2026 the project had engaged 800+ participants across four cohorts, added hackathons, masterclasses and a teachers’ Classroom Experience Design Lab, and turned its experience into EU policy recommendations through the joint paper “Blue Skills to Blue Careers”.
Who it is for
- Tourism and hospitality students
- Young professionals in coastal destinations
- Small coastal tourism businesses
- VET providers, trainers and mentors
- Destination managers and local authorities
Objectives
01
Map the skills gap
Identify the entrepreneurial, digital and green skills coastal tourism businesses genuinely lack across EU sea basins and outermost regions.
02
Build the ACADEMY and QUEST
Turn those skills into six gamified modules and an island-hopping virtual platform with badges, leaderboards and real-world case studies.
03
Train at scale
Four open cohorts with 800+ participants, hackathons, masterclasses, micro-credentials, internships and a train-the-trainers syllabus for educators.
04
Shape policy and legacy
Co-author “Blue Skills to Blue Careers” with six sister projects, and sustain results through a commercialisation plan, partnership programme and alumni venture portal.
The six learning modules
Module 02
The Experience
Crafting memorable tourist experiences
Design authentic local experiences that connect visitors with coastal culture, food, heritage and people.
Module 03
The Adrenaline
Adventure & sports tourism
Build and manage safe, profitable water and land adventure activities for active coastal travellers.
Module 04
The Environment
Sustainable practices for coastal ecosystems
Protect the coastline you sell: blue economy thinking, resource management and climate resilience.
Module 05
The Brand
Marketing & branding in coastal tourism
Position a coastal destination or business, tell its story and reach the right travellers online.
Module 06
The Business
Entrepreneurship & business management
Turn an idea into a viable venture: business models, finance, teams and growth in a seasonal market.