GastroTour Teacher Lab: Motivation, Innovation, and Czech Hospitality Taking Center Stage

25. 5. 2026
In May, Mendel University in Brno hosted an international workshop for university educators as part of the GastroTour project. The event brought together academia and industry professionals with the aim of fostering innovation in education focused on gastronomic and wine tourism.

The workshop program combined interactive teaching, the sharing of best practices, and inspiring field trips across the South Moravian region to locations connected with gastronomy, winemaking, and sustainable tourism. Participants visited the Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, the National Wine Salon of the Czech Republic — which has become an inspiration for other regions — and also joined gastronomic tours of Brno. Thanks to these activities, they experienced the connection between education, cultural heritage, and modern business approaches firsthand.

The workshop placed a strong emphasis on innovation, particularly digitalization, sustainable tourism, experimential products, and new business models. Its goal is to support the improvement of teaching quality through modern approaches, practical tools, and stronger links between education and industry practice, while preparing students for the rapidly evolving tourism sector and encouraging them to become future leaders in gastrotourism.

“The workshop significantly exceeded our expectations. The participants were highly motivated, actively shared their experiences, and appreciated not only the high quality of the program but also Czech hospitality and the innovative approaches applied in gastrotourism,” said Michaela Menšíková, Project Manager from the Faculty of AgriSciences at MENDELU.

GastroTour (Erasmus+) is a project focused on modernizing the wine and gastronomic tourism sector by connecting universities with industry practice. Its mission is to create modern digital educational solutions and tools that support sustainable economic and social development. By linking education, industry collaboration, and digital transformation, the project enables students, professionals, and businesses to succeed in the constantly evolving tourism environment. Through international partnerships, the project creates opportunities for knowledge sharing, innovation, and sustainable growth.

The project delivers practical educational packages designed to support continuous upskilling in gastrotourism, with a focus on key competencies in business development and digital skills. It is also preparing a comprehensive guide describing the essential business development competencies needed to strengthen and professionalize the gastrotourism value chain.

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