"<< Background >>The RETOURN (REcovery TOURrism after Natural disaster) project, positioned in the field of pvocational training, was conceived in response to the lack of preparation and adequate knowledge by the figures operating in the tourism sector on risk management and the recovery of damage resulting from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and pandemics such as the one caused by COVID-19.Through the involvement of a heterogeneous and representative partnership of different categories such as the Chamber of Commerce, VET, University, Association, belonging to 5 Member States (Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and Germany) the project aims to modernize the training offer for the education and professional training by developing a path of development of the skills and abilities necessary to facilitate and recover the touristic development more quickly in areas affected by natural disasters, thus creating the figure of the Tourism Recovery Expert.In the PHASE PREVIOUS TO THE SUBMISSION, 50 representatives of the tourism industry from all the involved Partner Countries were invited to respond to a questionnaire designed to understand the actual need for this training course (https://forms.gle/LuGvvTrtH8AGFBrS7). It is particulary significant that to the question ""in which measure do you believe that a natural disaster (from earthquakes, floods, to the current health emergency caused by covid 19) requires new professional skills in the tourism sector ""33% replied that it is absolutely necessary (5, on a scale of values ​​from 1 to 5), over 46% replied to be necessary (4) and 21% replied to be quite necessary (3); no value below 3 was recorded; concluding that for operators in the tourism sector it is necessary. In the same way, they were asked to evaluate which areas need to be re-skilled and the following were indicated: Tourism Risk & Crisis Management, Tourism revival & digital marketing strategies and Ethics of Tourism.<< Objectives >>The aim of the project is to structure, implement, test and disseminate the ""Recovery Tourism after Natural Disaster"" training program centered on tourism disaster management and the restoration of the tourist image after the advent of a natural disaster. This path will consist of:• Face-to-face teaching sessions,• Open Educational Resources,• laboratory activities provided according to the alternative didactic method of serious play, aimed at learning techniques and practices of emerging strategy making in complex, uncertain and ""disruptive"" contexts such as those that have suffered natural disasters.The beneficiaries of the training course will be 65 (20 IT, 15 GR, 15 SLO, 15 HU) individuals who operate in the tourism sector or who guide companies and associations in the tourism professions, such as tour operators and managers, tour guides and tour leaders; graduates and undergraduates in economic-tourism disciplines, unemployed and unemployed with a background in tourism-economic disciplines who need to acquire new skills to actively relocate on the market as the path is also aimed at those who have lost their jobs after a natural disaster.<< Implementation >>RETOURN provides for the creation of a short-term mobility activity for trainers that can contribute to the qualification of VET trainers and the production in a transnational cooperation perspective of four Project Results such as:• Creation of the Competence Framework for the Tourism Recovery Expert• Design of the structure of the new interdisciplinary teaching in Recovery Tourism after Natural Disaster and Processing of the contents of the Open Educational Resources• realization of the online platform for the project and realization of the Open Educational Resource • Piloting of the new training program and SWOT analysis post-natural disasters<< Results >>By carrying out these activities, mentioned above, it will be possible to:• promote the adoption of a European experiential teaching models• create stable links between training institutions, businesses, territories,• develop forms and opportunities for collaboration for tourism businesses at European level, also in order to develop the attitude to co-create value;• promote a participatory approach in the planning of the conversion/restructuring after the natural disaster;• increase the number of staff employed in the areas affected by the disaster through employment or re-employment in the training path;• helping tourism businesses to cope with and survive the recovery period;• raise awareness of the importance of the impact of natural disasters and the importance of prevention in all areas of human life and in the tourism sector in particular; • contribute to the conversion of the tourist image of the affected areas;• encourage greater use of risk management plans in the tourism sector."