Investing in human capital for tourism - The contribution of FondItalia to BTM 2026

FondItalia is once again present at this edition of BTM, in co-presence with its employer association Federterziario, to illustrate the opportunities for funded training for the sector.

In the last five years, the tourism sector has undergone a profound transformation, driven by global challenges that have required rethinking strategies, business models, and ways of interacting with customers. Digitalization, sustainability, experiential tourism, and artificial intelligence have become key themes for the future.

In this context, continuous training is essential: investing in skills allows companies to be more efficient, innovate their services, and respond to new market needs to ensure an integrated and competitive tourism offer, actively contributing to the development of the entire territorial system.

FondItalia: the strategic partner for enhancing human capital operating in the sector

FondItalia, the National Interprofessional Fund for Continuous Training promoted by UGL and FederTerziario, supports tourism companies in upskilling their employees with digital processes, rapid and flexible financing, in-person, remote, experiential, and on-the-job training methods.

As of December 2025, over 23,000 companies and just under 125,000 workers in the tourism sector have joined FondItalia. These are mainly companies and workers operating in the catering services (restaurants, cafes, ice cream shops, and pastry shops) and accommodation (hotels and similar) sectors.

Puglia, with 36%, Campania with 12%, Lombardy and Sicily, with 11% and 8% respectively, are the regions with the highest number of tourism companies adhering to the Fund; the same regions, but in different order and percentages, have the highest number of adhering workers (Puglia with 31%, Lombardy with 13%, Campania with 10%, and Sicily with 8%).

Their size is predominantly micro, with a maximum of 10 employees.

Also in December 2025, over 1,500 projects were funded by the Fund in favor of companies (about 3,100) and workers (about 18,600) in the sector, for a total of 9 million and 700 thousand euros in contributions disbursed. Personal skills development, business management, and knowledge of the work context are the most explored topics through training activities, second only to those related to Health and Safety at Work, which are mandatory and essential for professional practice in areas such as catering and hospitality.

“FondItalia confirms itself as a strategic ally for enhancing human capital as a factor of growth and competitiveness in the sector. However, this action  cannot be limited to the segments of hospitality and catering, but must necessarily include training interventions aimed at all operators in the tourism ecosystem, engaged in managing territorial infrastructures, enhancing cultural assets, and protecting both tangible and intangible heritage, and deepening essential elements for the entire system, such as territorial marketing strategies, sustainable resource management, digitalization, and service innovation”.

FondItalia's initiatives at BTM 2026

FondItalia will participate in the conference promoted by Federterziario titled “The human capital, heart and engine of tourism innovation in the intelligent era”, which will be held at the Main Arena Hall, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, where distinguished representatives from the institutional, academic, associative, and business worlds will delve into the topic of ongoing changes in the tourism market and their impact on skills with the aim of putting people back at the center of innovation processes as active and aware protagonists.

Representing FondItalia and explaining how, in a dimension dominated by neural networks and generative intelligence, the enhancement of human capital is at the center of the political debate, will be Tiziana Franco, head of the Fund's Control Area.

“FondItalia plays a key role in promoting the enhancement of human capital, in a context that prioritizes skills and the decision-making power of individuals, even in the era of artificial intelligence. The Fund, in fact – Franco states – supports companies in creating upskilling and reskilling pathways, fostering the ethical and human integration of new technologies and, particularly in the tourism sector, so that technological innovation enhances the human experience”.

FondItalia – Interprofessional Fund for continuous training

Promoted by the Social Partners UGL and FederTerziario, FondItalia is an Interprofessional Fund that promotes and finances company, inter-company, and individual training projects for workers of adhering companies.

Companies, by joining a Fund, authorize INPS to transfer 0.30% of the contributions paid by the employer for each employee to an Interprofessional Fund, such as FondItalia, which will use it to finance training in the company (Law 388/2000).

By joining FondItalia, therefore, each company can use the contributions paid to carry out training activities aimed at their workers on topics of interest, including those related to health and safety in the workplace.

For more information, visit the site www.fonditalia.org