FITUR Talent celebrates its sixth edition on Thursday 23 January in Pavilion 10 of IFEMA MADRID. The section, organised by FITUR in collaboration with the media outlet EDUCACIÓN 3.0., presents a complete programme under the motto 'How to attract and retain talent in the tourism industry. Good practices and success stories', led by human resources experts, representatives of academic institutions, companies and industry leaders.
With RRHH Digital as Media Partner, FITUR Talent will offer a space for debate and inspiration focused on practical solutions adapted to the needs of the sector, with a focus on people, talent, training and professional development. In this sense, with the sponsorship and participation of leading companies and entities that will also share their success stories, innovative strategies will be analyzed, highlighting the role of technology, professional training and personalized organizational policies.
FITUR Talent 2025 full programme, Pavilion 10
11:00 – 11:30 THTES 2025: bridging the Skills & Knowledge Gaps in Africa's Travel, Hospitality and Tourism Industry. Zambia Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Studies
Participant: Ms. Dear Sir
This session will explore opportunities for collaboration between educators and employers in Latin America and Africa. In addition, the upcoming tourism education summit in Zambia will be presented, highlighting the importance of human capital in the continent's tourism development.
11:40 – 12:15 We create opportunities in hospitality and tourism. Mahou San Miguel Foundation.
Participant: Isabel Ponce Velasco, Project Coordinator at the Mahou San Miguel Foundation
The presentation will showcase the Mahou San Miguel Foundation's 'Creating Opportunities' programme in Hospitality and Tourism, which facilitates the training of talented young people to turn them into the hospitality professionals of tomorrow.
12:20 – 12:50 New Age Talent. Turistec.
Participants: Bartolomé Deyà Tortella, professor at the Faculty of Tourism of the University of the Balearic Islands, Jaume Monserrat Quintana, president of Turistec and Mireia Faugier Santaularia, CEO of DirectBeds
Experts will highlight the role of technology as a cross-cutting tool in all tourism activities, as well as a necessary and essential catalyst. They will show elements such as AI that are reconfiguring ways of working and business models to achieve an even greater level of integration between talent and business.
13:00 – 13:30 Shaping the Future of Hospitality: The Next GM Spain 2025. Les Roches
Participants: Rubén Marín Nicolás, president of AEDH Young Talent; Nacho González Vázquez, National Vice President of Young Talent of AEDH and Guillermo Suárez, Postgraduate Regional Executive of Les Roches
This presentation will present an initiative designed to identify and develop the next generation of leaders in the hospitality industry in Spain, through a strategic collaboration between AEDH and Les Roches. The presentation will highlight the key phases of the programme and underline the importance of collaboration between industry, academia and key institutions in the tourism sector.
13:35 – 14:05 Listen and Connect: Personalization and commitment in talent loyalty
Gehocan. Participants: Montse Pereira, Director of People and CSR at Grupo Valora; Sonia Martínez, President of GEHOCAN and Director of HR at Gloria Thalasso & Hotels; Daniel Padrón, Director of HR at INCABE, Heineken Canarias and María Isabel Almandoz, Director of People, Talent and Culture at Canarian Hospitality.
In this roundtable, experts will discuss and offer their views on how talent management in the tourism industry depends on the internal practices that each organization implements to listen to, connect with, and engage its teams.
16:00 – 16:30 The new era of talent: change or revolution?
Participating: Mireia Faugier Santaularia, professor at the UIB Faculty of Tourism
The presentation analyses whether the transformation of talent is a change or a revolution, highlighting digitalisation, continuous training and connection with new generations as keys to attracting and retaining professionals in an evolving work environment.
16:40 – 17:10 Generating competitiveness in the wine tourism sector through vocational training. School of Wine Tourism of Catalonia. Participants: Begoña Fernández Benitez, coordinator of Tourism of the School of Wine Tourism of Catalonia and Gerard Domingo Blanch, director of the School of Wine Tourism of Catalonia.
The presentation will address how professional training can become a key pillar to boost competitiveness in the wine tourism sector.
Source: FITUR Talent.