UN Tourism launched hospitality education via WhatsApp
UN Tourism has launched a digital hospitality course conducted entirely via WhatsApp, turning one of the most widespread communication applications into a channel for professional development for employees, entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises in tourism. According to UN Tourism's announcement, the program was first introduced in Spain and was designed as practical and easily accessible education for people working in hospitality and tourism services. The organization states that this is its first educational program delivered exclusively via WhatsApp, placing the initiative within the broader trend of mobile and micro-learning. The initial phase of the program includes 2,000 fully subsidized places for participants residing in Spain. The course is being implemented in partnership with Fundación Mahou San Miguel, an organization connected with the Spanish horeca sector and experienced in training hospitality workers.
A program intended for employees, entrepreneurs, and small companies
According to information published by UN Tourism, the course is intended for a broad range of participants in the hospitality and tourism sector: employees, self-employed entrepreneurs, owners of small hospitality establishments, and small and medium-sized enterprises. Special emphasis is placed on practical skills that can be quickly applied in everyday business, from basic management of business processes to guest relations and the promotion of tourism services. Such an approach is important for a sector in which many workers do not have enough time for traditional, long-term training, especially during periods of increased demand and seasonal pressure. The published data indicate that the aim of the program is to reduce barriers to participation in professional development, not to create yet another formal educational format reserved for participants with greater time and financial resources. Since the education takes place through an application that many already use, the program relies on a familiar digital environment instead of complex e-learning platforms.
The content of the program, according to UN Tourism's announcement, is organized into short lessons covering daily management, digital marketing, customer loyalty, sustainability, and the development of local products and experiences. Such a structure suggests that the course is not designed only as an introduction to hospitality business, but also as a tool for strengthening the competitiveness of small service providers. In practice, this may mean that participants learn how to present their offer more clearly, how to better understand guests' needs, how to build a longer-term relationship with customers, and how to include local gastronomy or experiential tourism in a broader business story. UN Tourism states that the program aims to strengthen management practices, customer service, innovation, and the inclusion of sustainable principles in business operations. After completing all modules, participants should receive a joint certificate from UN Tourism and Fundación Mahou San Miguel.
Why WhatsApp was chosen
The choice of WhatsApp for delivering education is not accidental. According to TechCrunch's report on data presented by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, WhatsApp had more than three billion monthly active users in 2025. In its announcement, UN Tourism highlights precisely the accessibility and everyday use of such tools as one of the reasons why education can be brought closer to workers and entrepreneurs for whom traditional courses are not always practical. The format of short messages, videos, tasks, and interactions via mobile phone suits a sector in which work often takes place in shifts, in the field, and outside an office environment. In hospitality, decisions are often made quickly, and education that can be followed in shorter time blocks can be easier to fit into the working day. Such a model does not replace all forms of professional education, but it opens space for supplementary learning that is more accessible to a wider number of people.
The main advantage of this model is the low entry barrier. A participant does not necessarily need a special computer, a new password for a complex platform, or physical attendance at a specific location, but rather access to a mobile phone and an application that is already part of everyday communication. This is especially relevant for smaller entrepreneurs and family-run businesses in tourism, where administrative and educational tasks often remain in the background because of operational obligations. According to UN Tourism's announcement, the program was designed as a flexible and familiar learning experience, especially for those who have limited time or prefer mobile formats. At the same time, such an approach also raises questions about the quality of progress monitoring, data security, and the way in which actual knowledge acquisition is verified. For now, in the publicly available announcement, UN Tourism emphasizes accessibility, practicality, and a certificate upon completion of all modules, while details on the assessment methodology depend on the program and the application procedure.
Spain as the program's initial market
The program was first presented in Spain, a country where tourism has exceptionally great economic importance. According to Spanish government data reported by the Associated Press, Spain recorded 96.8 million international visitors in 2025, which was 3.2 percent more than in 2024. The same source states that spending by foreign tourists rose by 6.8 percent, to 134.7 billion euros, while tourism accounted for 12.6 percent of Spain's GDP. These figures explain why the need for trained staff, higher-quality service, and more efficient management of small business entities is particularly pronounced in Spain. A large number of arrivals brings revenue, but also pressure on the workforce, infrastructure, housing, and local communities. In such an environment, training workers and entrepreneurs is not only a matter of individual professional development, but also part of the discussion on more sustainable management of tourism growth.
In recent years, Spain has recorded record results in tourism, but at the same time increasingly vocal debates about the consequences of excessive tourism pressure in certain cities and destinations. Reporting on the 2025 results, the Associated Press stated that the growth of short-term rentals and tourist accommodation in some urban areas increases tensions over housing costs and relations between visitors and residents. In such a context, programs that combine business efficiency, service quality, and sustainability may have broader significance than simply increasing sales. If local products and experiences are developed responsibly, tourism spending can be distributed better and more small stakeholders can be included in the value chain. However, the effect of such initiatives will depend on how much of what is learned is actually applied in business operations and whether training will also be available outside the largest tourism centers.
Tourism has recovered and continues to grow, but it requires new skills
The launch of the WhatsApp course comes at a time when international tourism has fully recovered from the pandemic decline and continued to grow. According to data from the UN Tourism World Tourism Barometer for January 2026, around 1.52 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded worldwide in 2025, almost 60 million more than in 2024. In the same report, UN Tourism stated that 2025 was a new record year in the post-pandemic period, but also that demand grew despite inflation in tourism services and geopolitical challenges. Such growth increases the need for workers who know how to respond to changed traveler habits, higher expectations in digital communication, demands for more sustainable business operations, and stronger competition among destinations. In many tourism companies, it is precisely the lack of practical management and digital skills that is one of the factors limiting the quality of the offer.
UN Tourism has long linked its educational agenda with more accessible learning and professional development. On the page dedicated to online education, the organization states that the UN Tourism Online Academy offers self-paced, fully online programs with fundamental knowledge in tourism management and courses adapted to different industry needs. The WhatsApp program can be viewed as a continuation of that direction, but with an even stronger emphasis on mobile access and short, operational teaching units. Unlike traditional e-learning platforms, this education channel uses a tool that in many countries is already a standard part of business communication with guests, suppliers, and employees. This further reduces the boundary between communication, education, and business practice. At the same time, it remains important that the digital format does not reduce the professional level of the content, but makes it more understandable and accessible.
What participants can gain from the course
According to available information, the program focuses on skills directly connected with the quality of tourism and hospitality service. Business management includes the everyday organization of work, monitoring processes, and making decisions that affect efficiency and the guest experience. Customer service refers to communication, resolving complaints, recognizing visitors' needs, and creating conditions for repeat visits. Digital marketing is important because decisions about reservations, restaurants, activities, and accommodation are increasingly made on the basis of online visibility, reviews, and response speed. Customer loyalty can be crucial for small business entities because returning guests and recommendations often reduce dependence on expensive intermediary channels. Sustainability and local products, according to UN Tourism's announcement, are included as part of efforts to make the tourism offer higher-quality and more connected with local communities.
For small hospitality and tourism entities, this type of education can be useful precisely because it does not start from the assumption that every participant has the same formal education or the same business resources. The owner of a small restaurant, the manager of family accommodation, an employee in a bar, or an entrepreneur developing a local experience may have different needs, but they share the requirement for clear communication, better organization, and an understanding of guest expectations. According to UN Tourism, the program is adapted to professionals, employees, and entrepreneurs, which indicates an effort to make the content broad enough for different roles in the sector. The certificate of completion may serve participants as proof of participation in an internationally recognized program, although its practical value depends on how employers and the market recognize it. The most important effect, however, should be in the application of what has been learned in everyday work, not only in the formal certificate.
Statement by the UN Tourism Secretary-General
UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais stated, according to the organization's announcement, that innovation in education is crucial for facing the challenges that tourism encounters today. In her statement, she emphasized that UN Tourism sees this model as an important change in the way skills are developed in the sector. According to her words, practical and accessible training through tools used daily by millions of people enables immediately applicable learning, strengthens local ecosystems, and improves the visitor experience. That statement summarizes the logic of the program: education should not be distant from the workplace, but connected with the rhythm and needs of the sector. In tourism, service quality is often seen only in direct contact with the guest, so training that can quickly be connected with practice has special value. Still, the actual reach of the program will be possible to assess only after the results of the first group of participants and possible plans for expansion to other member countries become known.
Digital education as part of a broader change in tourism
In its institutional role, UN Tourism presents itself as the United Nations specialized agency for responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism. According to the organization's data, it works with 160 member states, six associate members, and more than 500 affiliate members from the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations, and local tourism authorities. Within that framework, education is not a side topic, but one of the ways to connect tourism growth with more inclusive development and higher-quality destination management. The WhatsApp course shows how international institutions are increasingly turning to formats that are simpler to use, cheaper to distribute, and closer to workers' everyday digital habits. Such an approach can be especially important in sectors with a large share of small enterprises, self-employed people, and seasonal workers. If the program expands to other member countries after the Spanish phase, it will be important to adapt the content to local languages, market conditions, and legal frameworks.
For the tourism industry, which is simultaneously facing record demand, labor shortages, digital transformation, and pressure for sustainability, such training can be one of the practical tools for strengthening resilience. It cannot by itself solve the sector's structural problems, such as working conditions, seasonality, housing prices, or the burden on infrastructure, but it can help part of the knowledge reach more quickly those who directly shape the visitor experience. The program by UN Tourism and Fundación Mahou San Miguel is therefore important as a pilot model, not only as an individual course for 2,000 participants. Its value will be greater if it shows that high-quality professional development can also be carried out through communication channels that are already deeply rooted in everyday life. For now, it has been confirmed that applications for the initial Spanish phase are open, while further expansion and the results of the program will depend on implementation, the sector's interest, and UN Tourism's institutional decisions.
Sources:
- UN Tourism / Hospitality Net – announcement on the launch of the first hospitality courses via WhatsApp, the content of the program, the partnership, and the statement by the Secretary-General (link)
- Mirage News / UN Tourism – public announcement on the digital course, the number of subsidized places, and the module via WhatsApp (link)
- UN Tourism – official description of the organization, membership, and institutional role in responsible, sustainable, and accessible tourism (link)
- UN Tourism – World Tourism Barometer data for 2025 and the estimate of 1.52 billion international tourist arrivals (link)
- UN Tourism – information on the Online Academy platform and fully online education programs in tourism (link)
- Associated Press – report on Spain's record tourism results in 2025 and the economic importance of tourism (link)
- TechCrunch – report on Meta's statement that WhatsApp has more than three billion monthly active users (link)