CoastalPro: Training future coastal tourism professionals through gamified learning

Coastal tourism is one of the most economically significant pillars of the European Union’s blue economy, supporting millions of jobs and local communities. Yet, despite its importance, the sector faces a persistent skills gap, particularly in entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability. The EU project CoastalPro, supported by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, has stepped in to address this challenge, offering a forward-thinking solution designed for a wide audience, from students to aspiring entrepreneurs.

At the heart of CoastalPro lies an innovative, gamified learning experience built on the Moodle platform. This interactive environment transforms traditional training into an engaging journey, where learners can progress through levels, collaborate with peers and track achievements via leaderboards and certifications.

The platform supports both self-paced and cohort-based learning, ensuring flexibility while maintaining a sense of community. By blending education with game mechanics, CoastalPro makes complex entrepreneurial concepts more accessible, practical and enjoyable.

Gamified training modules covering the full spectrum of coastal tourism entrepreneurship

The CoastalPro project developed and validated six comprehensive training modules to cover the full spectrum of coastal tourism entrepreneurship, from designing memorable visitor experiences to building sustainable business models and strong brand identities.

Odysseas Spyroglou, CoastalPro Project Coordinator, says

“We are proud that CoastalPro is providing new tools and approaches to train the next generation for coastal tourism professionals.

Our gamified learning experience helps young people see coastal tourism not just as a job, but as a pathway to sustainable entrepreneurship and community renewal through building new skills, unlocking creativity and developing sustainable business thinking.”

Proven success in real educational settings and lessons learnt

CoastalPro learning modules have been successfully tested through pilots in real-world learning environments and are now integrated into the undergraduate course on Sustainable Tourism and Media at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. More than 50 students, including Erasmus+ participants from 12 EU countries, took part in the programme and demonstrated the platform’s ability to foster deep learning and practical application. 

Through its pilot phases, CoastalPro identified a key insight: structured, classroom-based courses significantly improve both completion rates and learning quality compared to individual enrolment. As a result, the project has strategically shifted towards an institution-based model, working closely with universities, training providers and organisations to maximise impact.

Supporting educators and building a community

Beyond student learning, CoastalPro has developed a full operational toolkit to support educators and partners and to ensure that institutions can effectively adopt and deliver the CoastalPro methodology. This includes a Community Building Manual and a Train-the-Trainers programme.

In parallel, the project has launched an affiliation programme with tiered partnership levels designed to expand its reach and foster a growing community of stakeholders across Europe.

Innovation and education for thriving professionals in coastal tourism and as enablers of key EU policies 

By equipping learners with the skills needed to thrive in coastal tourism, the CoastalPro project is helping to shape a more sustainable, competitive and resilient future for one of Europe’s most vital sectors. The project has prepared a very useful practical guide to support learners, educators, and hosting organisations in navigating international mobility and on-the-job training within the EU.

Through its focus on sustainable tourism and eco-friendly practices, the project contributes to the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy. It also aligns with the EU Skills Agenda, by enhancing digital literacy, entrepreneurship and green skills in the sector. The CoastalPro project helps meeting the objectives of the European Ocean Pact, in particular “Boosting the competitiveness of the EU sustainable blue economy” and “Supporting coastal and island communities, and outermost regions”. 

If you want to dive deeper into the CoastalPro project and its activities, check the project website and follow them on social media (LinkedIn, Instragram).