Tourism Games by Ischgl 2026: Young talents shaping the tourism industry of tomorrow 

On 13 and 14 April 2026, the successful Tourism Games by Ischgl event entered its third edition, bringing together a total of 15 teams from Austria, South Tyrol and Germany. The teams, each consisting of five members aged between 16 and 30, took on demanding challenges in the disciplines of cooking, marketing and barkeeping at various locations.

The event kicked off on Monday evening with a lively welcome reception at the Fire & Ice Restaurant. In a relaxed atmosphere, final organisational details were discussed and any outstanding questions were answered. Tuesday was all about creativity, expertise and team spirit: the cooking competitions took place at the Hotel Trofana Royal, where participants demonstrated their skills at the highest level and had to prepare two dishes from the provided basket of ingredients. At the same time, the teams at the Alpenhaus mountain restaurant developed innovative concepts in the marketing category centred on the use of artificial intelligence in tourism. At the same time, on the Ischgl Stage at Idalp, 2,320 metres above sea level, there was shaking, stirring and presenting – in the barkeeping category, creative cocktail creations were crafted under the open sky. The performances in all three categories were judged by a high-calibre panel of experts in their respective fields.

Young talents are thrilled and celebrating their big moment

Representatives from the tourism, business and education sectors were impressed by the participants’ commitment. Mag. (FH) Kerstin Biedermann-Smith highlighted the innovative spirit of the young talents and expressed her conviction that the industry need not worry about the next generation – the participants’ dedication, motivation and enthusiasm were simply too great. ProMedia Managing Director Stefan Kröll was also impressed by the high standard of the participants. He particularly highlighted how thoroughly the young professionals had engaged with the tasks and the dedication and commitment with which they had competed.

After an intense day of competition, the top two places in the overall standings went to the teams from the Kaiserhof Meran Provincial Hotel Management School, followed by the Zillertal Tourism Schools in third place. The emotional highlight took place at the awards ceremony in the Champagne Club, where the winners were celebrated to thunderous applause. A lively after-show party provided the perfect finale to the Tourism Games 2026.

A platform for the talents of tomorrow

Michelin-starred chef and co-organiser Martin Sieberer highlighted the exceptionally high standard of the competition. He said it had never been this high before, and that it had been extremely difficult to choose a winner, as the performances had been consistently impressive. “Supporting young talent is a crucial investment in the future of our industry. I am particularly pleased to see the passion, skill and dedication with which the participants compete – this is precisely where the next generation of skilled professionals is being nurtured.”

TVB Managing Director Thomas Köhle also emphasised the importance of the event: “The Tourism Games highlight just how much innovative drive, creativity and commitment there is in the next generation. Formats like this are crucial for inspiring young people to take an interest in tourism and showing them real career prospects within the industry.” The event was supported by partners such as Laurent Perrier, the Tyrol and Vorarlberg Chambers of Commerce, and Silvretta Seilbahn AG, who, together with many other partners, made a significant contribution to the success of the Tourism Games. The Tourism Games by Ischgl once again demonstrated just how versatile and forward-looking tourism is – and how crucial it is to offer young talent a platform on which they can develop and showcase their skills.