For years the Tourism Schools Semmering has been engaged in quality management and innovation. The concrete background of this project is aimed at securing the school and tourism locations. Both Semmering and the Azores, as structurally backward regions, have to struggle with economicall and structural politicall consequences due to emigration of the young population. This makes it all the more important for a school to implement activities in workaday live, which strengthen the school profile and the location, as well as stimulating the region and make it attractive for young and old. About 50 people are involved in the implementation of this ambitious project including students and teachers, who call on many years of experience in the national and international gastronomy and hotel sector. Furthermore, project coordinators are responsible for the organisational and bureaucratic issues. The visit of the partner school, to get to know the touristic facilities should lead to an intercultural exchange and offer an insight into other cultural systems and culinary concepts. Consequently, the horizons and the gastronomy and touristic competences of all participants are being broaded. The highlights of the mutual visits are the typical gala dinners, where the theoretic preparations are being put into practice by cooking and organizing dinners together. The Cooking book, which pursue the approach of “Story telling” is another concrete output of the project even with a promotionall effect for the schools and regions. The cookbook will be created by the students of the schools between the gala dinners and contains the original, receipts of typical meals. Personal stories about regional traditions should feature on the cards and provide lasting memory of this intercultural exchange. It would be desirable if the touristic and cultural assets of the respective region would be remembered and thus foster European attitudes as well as have a positive impact on the schools themselves. In any case the project can lead to an improvement of job mobility and the quality of education whereby a long-term benefit can be reached.
For years, the Tourism Schools Semmering have been concerned with content that follows quality assurance and innovation. The specific background of this project aimed, among other things, to secure the school and tourism locations. Both Semmering and the capital of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, as structurally weak (tourism) regions, must not only deal with migration, especially of young people, but also with other structural and economic consequences. As a training center, it is all the more important to implement activities in the school's everyday life that not only underline the school profile and strengthen the location but also revitalize the regions and make them attractive for young and old. This was also the project goal, which was realized by hosting gourmet evenings, in which about 100 guests participated at the Tourism Schools Semmering. Prior to the event, it was promoted to reach a broad audience and to attract not only representatives of the school community but also parents and relatives of the students, as well as residents of Semmering and its surrounding areas. During the event, recordings were made by TV Mürz to achieve a broad external impact. Approximately 50 people were involved in the implementation of this ambitious project. This number results from students in the 12th grade as well as project supervisors, all of whom have many years of experience in national and international hotel and gastronomy industries. Furthermore, project coordinators were involved in the realization, who were responsible for bureaucratic and organizational matters. The visit to the partner school and getting to know the respective tourist facilities led to intercultural exchange and mutual insights into other (cultural) systems and culinary concepts. Thus, the gastronomic and tourist scope of action of all participants was expanded. The mutual visits culminated in country-specific gourmet evenings, which can be seen as a round conclusion and project highlight since the theoretical groundwork was now put into practice. It is important to emphasize that students from both countries cooked together and were thus directly involved in practice. The intercultural cookbook is another tangible output of this project, which has advertising effectiveness for schools and regions at the same time. The cookbook was developed jointly by students of the schools between mobilities. It includes a brief input on the individual regions as well as recipes for traditional dishes, supplemented by personal experience reports that provide insights into personal experiences, among other things, and is intended to serve as a lasting medium beyond the project time to remember this intercultural exchange. It was and is great to see how sustainable friendships were formed. In addition, the participants learned about the tourist and cultural advantages of the respective regions. They developed a stronger sense of unity in the sense of European thinking, which in turn has a positive effect on the school locations. In any case, the realization of this project can lead to an improvement in the quality of education and future job mobility, which can provide long-term benefits.