Young Talent Programme 2020/2021

The two-year programme is now closed. It reached its culmination at the Innovation Festival “Moving Forward” which was held in Andermatt, Switzerland from 14-17 November 2021.

The twelve finalists were invited to Switzerland to take part in the event where they joined the “Young Talent Learnability Seminar” hosted by our partner company Right Management Talent Solutions, part of the Manpower Group. They then joined over 200 international delegates at the conference which was dedicated to innovation and the future of the tourism industry.

Check out the film introducing our twelve fantastic finalists.

To find out more about the Young Talent Programme 2020/2021, including the selection process, the program in Andermatt and the sponsors, the review is available to download here.

If you have any questions about the Young Talent Programme, please contact Florian Eggli, the Programme Director: florian.eggli@wtflucerne.org

The winners

One finalist from each category talent, innovation, diversity, sustainable development was selected as a winner. The 2020/2021 winners are:

Talent: Hiraku Morita, Wakayama University, Japan

Innovation: Hailey Brown, Univeristy of Queensland, Australia

Diversity: Gifty Efua Koufie, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Sustainable Development: Si Ting (Lisa) Xie, Ecole hotelière de Lausanne, Switzerland

the finalists: category talent

Anastasia Immerman, IMI International Management Institute

Impact investing into tourism destinations

Hikaru Morita, Wakayama University

Why is Japanese Green Tourism suitable for tourism students?

Valeria Goch, North-Caucasus Federal University

What factors are indicative of the environmental friendliness of the destination for Generation Z?

the finalists: category INNOVATION

Anita Gerber, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Collaboration

Daniela Fernández Luhrs, Universidad de Monterrey

Overtourism

Hailey Brown, University of Queensland

An opportunity to diversify the tourism industry for the visually impaired

the finalists: category DIVERSITY

Gifty Efua Koufie, University of Johannesburg

The use of nutrition apps in the hospitality industry to promote healthy food choices

Laura Yasmin Eisebitt, Harz University of Applied Sciences

Integration of refugees into the German job market

Lavanya Gaba, Institute of Hotel Management-Aurangabad

Chakra: Weaving Sustainability

the finalists: Category SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Chandy Loeurng, Mahidol University International College

Back to the Future: A Responsible Approach on Food Delivery

Private sponsor

Ivona Trenkoska, University of St. Kliment Ohridski

How to revive an abandoned village through rural tourism

Si Ting (Lisa) Xie, Ecôle hôtelière de Lausanne

World Heritage sites (WHSs)

“Although I was not one of the winners, I gained more than I expected and the Young Talent Programme 2019 was truly priceless. It was a very great opportunity to meet people from the industry with smart ideas who come from different background and to be able to hear their experiences, stories and inspirations.”

— Naruemon Suphap, Mahidol University International College (Thailand)

We cannot talk about the future without including tomorrow’s generation. World Tourism Forum Lucerne has launched various initiatives to help foster the exchange of expertise between generations within the industry. The Young Talent Programme is the longest established of these.

The goal of the Young Talent Programme is to connect CEOs and talented young people, whilst emphasising the importance of a talent pipeline between universities and the industry.

The Young Talent Programme invites the best students from our partner universities to the Forum where they will have an exceptional opportunity to attend a career planning session by Korn Ferry. They will meet internationally renowned CEOs and world-famous opinion leaders within the travel, tourism & hospitality industry to build up a unique network for their personal career path.