Can mentors of Erasmus student mobility influence the development of future tourism?

Purpose – According to the 25th anniversary of Erasmus program and closing of financing scheme 2007 – 2013 together with launch of new Erasmus era between 2014 and 2020, the time for evaluation of Student Mobility has come. In 2011 on Vocational College for Catering and Tourism Maribor the research within Slovenian domestic companies has been done to evaluate Student Mobility for Placements among domestic tourism companies (Zdolšek, R., 2011), this year the research among foreign Erasmus partner companies has been done. The aim of the paper is to compare the results of both studies and to give proposals for improvement of organization of Student Mobility for Placements with aim to foster tourism development in the region. Approach – The data for research has be primal (own researches) and secondary (theory of Erasmus mobility). Data will be preceded by quantitative research method. Findings – The results of the studies have shown that tourism companies home and abroad evaluate the influence of Student Mobility positively and would be more willing to employ the student that has mobility experience than a student without mobility experience, however, there is still much to be done in promoting Erasmus mobility among companies. Originality of the paper – The paper about evaluation of Erasmus mobility open innovation in the field of hospitality will be used for the first time in hotel industry in Slovenia as the solution for overcoming the economic crisis.