Eco-Oriented Educational Practices in the Professional Training of Hospitality Specialists in Leading European Countries

Relevance. The relevance of the research is determined by the orientation of the modern hospitality industry towards sustainable development and its significant impact on the environment due to excessive consumption of resources, waste production, and CO2 emissions. This determines several important trends: in EU countries, consumers increasingly choose environmentally friendly products and services; in leading European countries, the training of hospitality industry specialists includes eco-oriented educational practices on energy conservation, waste management, and resource provision; environmental education enables future specialists to understand this impact and master methods of environmentalization; the environmental competence and culture of hospitality industry specialists determine the competitiveness of their enterprises; the introduction of eco-oriented practices promotes innovations in the hospitality industry, improves the quality of services, and reduces energy and material costs; the European experience of training hospitality industry specialists is open to the Ukrainian system of vocational (vocational-technical) education and requires thorough study. The aim is to analyze the experience of leading European countries regarding the use of eco-oriented educational practices in the professional training of hospitality industry specialists and to develop relevant recommendations for vocational (vocational-technical) education institutions in Ukraine that train specialists for this industry. The methods include analysis and synthesis methods for outlining the conceptual basis of the research, a search method for formulating general conclusions, and a prognostic method for substantiating ways to use innovative ideas from the experience of leading European countries in the professional training of hospitality industry specialists in Ukraine. The results show that eco-oriented professional training in leading European countries aims at achieving sustainable development goals and enhancing the competitiveness of hospitality industry specialists in the international labor market; the use of eco-oriented practices, exemplified by leading European countries (Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Spain), demonstrates the advantages of integrating eco-oriented skills into educational programs for training hospitality industry specialists, indicating their compliance with global environmental standards and leadership in sustainable development. The conclusions, based on the analysis of the experience of training hospitality industry specialists in leading European countries (Denmark, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom), provide recommendations for improving the professional training of these specialists in Ukraine by introducing European eco-oriented educational practices (integration of environmental management principles such as "Green Key", "Eco-Lighthouse"; inclusion of practice-oriented modules on energy conservation, waste management, and resource provision into educational programs; establishment of unified standards for eco-oriented practices; support for innovation; response to consumer demand for sustainable development strategies; monitoring and evaluation of eco-oriented professional programs).