Abstract:

The tourism and hospitality industry currently faces major environmental and socio-cultural challenges. Despite generating around 10% of global GDP, it is responsible for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions and has a significant impact on water and energy consumption, waste production, and soil degradation. In addition, issues such as tourist overcrowding and growing inequalities in destination communities have highlighted the sector’s fragility and the urgent need for more sustainable and resilient tourism models.

Schools play a crucial role in shaping environmental attitudes and awareness, partly due to peer effects that extend beyond individual characteristics. According to OECD Working Papers, more than 78% of fifteen-year-olds across EU and OECD countries are aware of climate change and global warming; however, about 70% do not engage in energy-saving behaviours, and only about 38% take part in environmental activities.

The objective of this study is to present the educational and training approach adopted in the project “Master Yourself: How to Be Protagonists of Sustainable Tourism”. The project aims to raise students’ awareness of climate change and sustainability challenges, and to promote their active engagement through tailored educational activities focused on the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism and hospitality sector. The methodology integrates theory and practice through experiential learning.

The initiative was implemented with secondary-school students from the High School of Education "Di Pasca - Fortunato" Hospitality Program, in Potenza, Southern Italy, within the framework of the PCTO (“Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation”), and in collaboration with the SuperScienceMe – Research is Your Elevation project, funded by the European Researchers' Night, and the COSME TRACE project.

The training programme was structured into three main phases:
(1) Defining the reference framework and selecting indicators to assess business sustainability;
(2) Presenting and discussing real business cases in the tourism and hospitality sector, including face-to-face meetings with entrepreneurs;
(3) Team building and project development, during which students designed thematic initiatives aimed at promoting the natural and cultural resources of the local area, following the sustainability criteria examined in the earlier phases.

In line with the school’s educational objectives, students were guided in exploring the concepts of environmental sustainability and the circular economy. These concepts were then applied to the design of four sustainable tourist itineraries aimed at reducing environmental impacts—such as CO₂ emissions and ecological and water footprints—while enhancing the cultural and natural heritage of the Basilicata region. The students also developed an app to promote their business ideas, leveraging digital communication tools, and presented their work to internationally recognised hospitality scholars. The outcomes were positive, both in terms of external evaluation and the development of transferable skills.

Keywords:

Sustainability, Awareness, Learning by doing, Entrepreneurship.