A Fairer Future for Tourism and Hospitality Work
Horizon Europe project improving tourism and hospitality worker well-being by strengthening inclusive social dialogue in a digitalising labour market.
Horizon Europe project improving tourism and hospitality worker well-being by strengthening inclusive social dialogue in a digitalising labour market.
FUTOURWORK is a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action that aims to improve working conditions and well-being in the tourism and hospitality sector. The project addresses labour precarity, weak social protections, and inequalities affecting workers, especially women, migrants, and young people, within a context of increasing digitalisation, platform work, and algorithmic management.
The project combines research, stakeholder engagement, and practical tools to strengthen inclusive social dialogue. Key activities include mapping working conditions, conducting interviews and surveys, identifying best practices, and developing a worker well-being index and an observatory to support structured dialogue between workers, employers, unions, and policymakers.
The overall objective is to ensure tourism and hospitality workers are effectively represented and protected in the “new world of work”.
Tourism and hospitality employ millions of workers across Europe, yet many face precarious contracts, unstable income, and limited social protections. Women, migrants, and young workers are particularly affected.
With the rise of digitalisation, platform work, and algorithmic management, new forms of inequality and exploitation risk emerging. FUTOURWORK responds to this challenge by rebuilding inclusive social dialogue in the sector.
Through research, evidence gathering, stakeholder engagement, and the development of tools such as a Worker Well-being Index and a Social Dialogue Observatory, the project seeks to make working conditions visible, measurable, and improvable. Its ultimate goal is to support fairer, healthier, and more inclusive employment in tourism and hospitality.
• Development and adoption of the Worker Well-being Index • Participation of employers and unions in dialogue processes • Policy uptake of recommendations • Evidence of improved employment stability over time
• Horizon Europe funding • Academic research teams • Sectoral stakeholders (unions, employers, workers) • Comparative labour market data
• Mapping employment conditions • Surveys and interviews • Best practice identification • Structured multi-stakeholder dialogues
• Worker Well-being Index • Policy recommendations • Social Dialogue Observatory • Reports and publications
• Increased awareness of labour precarity • Better structured social dialogue • Improved benchmarking of employment standards
Moderate contribution to improving job stability and fair practices in the tourism sector, with potential long-term sectoral economic strengthening.
• Well-being Index metrics • Worker survey responses • Reported improvements in working conditions
• Research funding • Survey instruments • Stakeholder participation
• Data collection • Dialogue sessions • Development of well-being assessment tools
• Well-being Index • Reports on psychosocial risks • Recommendations
Improved awareness of workplace health risks and promotion of healthier work environments.
Potential medium-term improvements in worker well-being if adopted by employers and policymakers.
None specific to emissions or environmental performance.
Research funding (not environmentally targeted)
Social dialogue and labour research (no environmental action)
Reports and governance tools (non-environmental)
No measurable environmental change
No direct environmental impact
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• Operational observatory platform • Adoption by external stakeholders • Replication across countries
• Digital infrastructure • Research teams • Data analytics tools
• Development of index methodology • Creation of observatory platform • Data systematisation
• Digital observatory • Structured benchmarking system
Improved transparency and comparability of labour conditions.
Moderate innovation transfer if adopted externally by sector actors.
• Inclusion of women, migrants, youth • Participation in dialogue processes • Policy recommendations addressing inequality
• Research funding • Stakeholder engagement • Intersectional analysis framework
• Participatory dialogues • Data collection on inequalities • Policy formulation
• Equity-focused recommendations • Inclusion tools • Structured dialogue mechanisms
Reduced inequality gaps in representation and voice.
Strong contribution to improving labour equity and civil rights in the tourism sector.
• Inclusion of workers in structured dialogue processes • Development and application of a Worker Well-being Index • Evidence of fair work principles (contracts, stability, representation) • Policy recommendations addressing precarity • Stakeholder participation levels
• Horizon Europe funding • Academic and policy research expertise • Engagement of unions, employers, and worker representatives • Labour market data and surveys
• Mapping employment conditions across countries • Surveys and interviews with workers • Multi-stakeholder dialogue sessions • Development of a Worker Well-being Index • Formulation of policy recommendations
• Reports on labour precarity • Worker Well-being Index framework • Social Dialogue Observatory • Policy recommendations and best practice guidelines
• Increased awareness of precarious working conditions • Stronger inclusion of workers in dialogue processes • Benchmarking tools available for improving employment standards
Potential improvement of working conditions in the tourism and hospitality sector through strengthened collective dialogue, better benchmarking of standards, and policy influence. The impact depends on adoption by employers and policymakers but represents a strong contribution to decent work principles.
• Dialogue sessions held • Governance frameworks developed • Policy uptake
• Consortium institutions • EU funding • Multi-country stakeholders
• Governance analysis • Stakeholder workshops • Policy co-creation
• Dialogue frameworks • Governance recommendations
Improved accountability and institutional responsiveness.
Strong reinforcement of participatory governance structures.
• Number and diversity of stakeholders involved (workers, unions, employers, policymakers) • Structured dialogue sessions conducted • Evidence of stakeholder contributions in reports and recommendations • Multi-country participation across the consortium
• Horizon Europe funding • Consortium institutions across six countries • Engagement of social partners (unions and employer organisations) • Research and facilitation expertise
• Multi-stakeholder dialogue workshops • Interviews and consultations with workers and sector actors • Co-development of recommendations • Cross-country comparative exchanges
• Structured social dialogue frameworks • Policy recommendations reflecting stakeholder input • Social Dialogue Observatory • Documentation of best practices
• Increased stakeholder voice in sectoral discussions • More inclusive governance processes • Strengthened cooperation between workers and employers
Improved participatory governance in the tourism and hospitality sector through structured and recurring stakeholder involvement. While not full co-governance with shared decision-making power, the project embeds participation throughout the process and strengthens institutional dialogue capacity.
• Number of countries involved in the consortium • National-level stakeholder engagement (workers, unions, employers) • Cross-country comparative research • Policy recommendations adaptable to different territorial contexts
• Multi-country consortium (UK, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Sweden, Bulgaria) • EU funding under Horizon Europe • Engagement of national-level sector stakeholders
• Country-level data collection • National stakeholder consultations • Cross-country dialogue sessions • Comparative analysis of labour conditions
• Country reports • Comparative analysis across territories • Transnational dialogue frameworks • Recommendations adaptable to different national contexts
• Improved awareness of labour conditions within participating countries • Strengthened dialogue at national sector level • Increased cross-country learning
Moderate territorial relevance through transnational engagement and national-level stakeholder involvement. However, the project does not directly intervene in local communities, urban regeneration, or territorial planning processes.
• Research publications and reports • Development of the Worker Well-being Index • Creation of the Social Dialogue Observatory • Knowledge-sharing workshops and dialogue sessions • Cross-country comparative analysis
• Academic research teams across six countries • Horizon Europe funding • Labour market data and survey instruments • Stakeholder knowledge and expertise
• Empirical research (surveys, interviews, mapping) • Development of analytical tools (Index and Observatory) • Stakeholder workshops and knowledge exchange • Dissemination of findings and best practices
• Research reports and comparative studies • Worker Well-being Index framework • Social Dialogue Observatory platform • Policy briefs and recommendations
• Increased awareness of labour inequalities and precarious work • Improved sectoral understanding of decent work standards • Availability of structured tools for benchmarking and learning
Strong cognitive and educational contribution to the tourism and hospitality sector through structured knowledge production and dissemination. The project fosters long-term sectoral learning, although it does not establish permanent institutional educational programs.
• Explicit reference to young workers as a target group • Inclusion of youth perspectives in surveys and interviews • Policy recommendations addressing youth precarity • Long-term labour market considerations
• Horizon Europe funding • Intersectional research framework (including age dimension) • Engagement of sector stakeholders that represent young workers
• Data collection including age-disaggregated analysis • Interviews and surveys involving young workers • Dialogue sessions discussing youth employment precarity • Development of policy recommendations including youth considerations
• Reports identifying youth-specific vulnerabilities • Recommendations addressing youth working conditions • Inclusion of youth dimension in the Worker Well-being Index
• Increased visibility of youth precarity in the tourism sector • Improved awareness of age-related inequalities • Potential influence on youth employment standards
Moderate generational relevance through recognition and analysis of youth vulnerability in precarious employment. The project contributes to future-oriented labour policy discussions but does not establish youth leadership or dedicated youth governance mechanisms.
• Secured Horizon Europe grant agreement • Defined project duration (multi-year funding) • Consortium financial allocation across partners • Clear budget structure and reporting obligations
• Horizon Europe funding • Financial management by the coordinating institution (University of Westminster) • Consortium cost allocation and reporting systems
• Budget allocation across work packages • Financial monitoring and reporting to the European Commission • Management coordination across partner institutions
• Funded research activities • Deliverables produced within budget • Financial compliance reports
• Stable implementation of project activities during the funding period • Reliable financial management structure across consortium members
The project demonstrates stable and secure financing during its lifecycle. However, it does not establish a self-sustaining financial model beyond the EU funding period, and long-term continuation of tools (e.g., the Observatory or Index) depends on future institutional or policy support.