Project ComPass successfully launched with the first experience exchange in Burg (Spreewald)
Right from the start of the project on 01.10.2016 the first experience exchange of the project partners was carried out in the period from 17th to 21st October 2016 in Burg (Spreewald). The agenda included discussions on the topic of "Tourism for All", "Health Tourism", "Qualification and Training", "Equality of Gender and Equal Opportunities" as well as related company visits in the Burg (Spreewald) region.
The visit to the "Spreewald Thermenhotel" was under the theme of qualification and further education in particular by management personnel in the fields of sales, IT, customer orientation, quality management and foreign language skills. Hotel manager Mr. Völlger discussed the hotel's philosophy and spoke to the participants.
In the "Hotel am See" (Seehotel), the various areas of the hotel in connection with the subject of health tourism were presented by the marketing manager, Mrs. Westphal. The participants were particularly impressed of the wooden blockhouses, which contribute to a relaxing wellness and health holiday by their construction and interior furnishing.
The visit of the "Kneipp- und Erlebniscamping an der Spreewaldfließen" and the subsequent discussion with the owners and operators, Mrs. Pfeiffer and Mr. Ragotzky, on the subject of qualification and further education as well as a reflection of the company visits and discussions concluded a very interesting day.
The "NaturApartments Stauensfließ" are run by Elke and Joachim Lang. The couple is one of the so-called "cross-border workers in tourism" and employs two unskilled workers. They nevertheless showed success in a tour of the facility and answered many questions about their success recipe in the following talks.
In the Spreewald region traditional handicraft is lived and liked to be shown. This was evident in Mr. Schilka's small "Stein-Senfmanufaktur". Mr. Schilka manufactures his own mustard in an old traditional way and disseminates it by himself.
In the subsequent presentation and discussion with the director of the tourism information (Spreewald), Mrs. Schlenger, the link between crafts and tourism was once again taken up and the topic of "Q certification" (quality certification) was presented with a closer look to the topic of disabled tourism.
The participants were able to exchange the practical experiences from the company visits in different workshops and theme rounds on the next day. For example, there was a presentation of DEHOGA Brandenburg by Mr. Lücke and TMB Tourismusmarketing Brandenburg GmbH on "The tourism concept of the state of Brandenburg and its implementation, especially in the field of qualification of seasonal workers, women, and the elderly".
Another topic was: "How can part-time and seasonal workers be further qualified according to their skills and abilities so that they can be employed in the long-term and sustainable in micro and small enterprises?", which was organized by Mrs. Oder and Mr. Krüger from the Employment Agency Cottbus and Mrs. Schielei from the WfBB Wirtschaftsförderung Brandenburg GmbH.
From the final discussions with the project partners and the participating companies, a positive conclusion of the experience exchange can be drawn. All participants went home with many impressions, experiences and new ideas.
