The European Travel Commission (ETC), in partnership with the University of Surrey and publisher Graffeg, has launched a series of children’s books introducing young readers to tourism and hospitality careers through storytelling. Based on academic research and expressed through engaging fiction, the initiative uses relatable characters and everyday adventures to help children understand the realities, skills and opportunities behind a career in tourism.
The project responds to the workforce challenges facing European tourism, and to research showing that early, positive impressions of a sector shape career choices well before young people enter the job market.
Europe’s tourism sector depends on a skilled, motivated and diverse workforce. As destinations continue to evolve, attracting and retaining talent has become one of the industry’s key long-term challenges.
Research carried out by the University of Surrey, in partnership with ETC, investigates the sector’s employment reputation and how it can be improved. It finds that despite common perceptions, tourism jobs cultivate highly transferable skills, including problem-solving, communication, customer service and multitasking. Employees develop these skills through traits inherent to the sector, such as customer-facing roles, job rotation, workplace diversity and close interaction between junior and experienced staff. These are some of the most sought-after competencies across all industries, indicating a clear opportunity to use the appeal of these transferable skills to reshape how young people see a career in travel and hospitality.
Two series have been created for different age groups, each following young characters as they encounter the highs and lows of working in tourism and hospitality.
Dee and Flee
Ages 5–7 | Author: Julia Hubery | Illustrator: Laura Wood
A humorous early-reader series following Dee, an enterprising young dog, and her alien best friend Flee, as they take on a new job in every book.
The series comprises six books planned in total. Each book includes puzzles, a Q&A section and a glossary of tourism and hospitality terms, giving teachers ready-made conversation starters for the classroom.
Searchlight
Ages 7–12 | Author: Ann Bryant | Illustrator: Laura Wood
A middle grade adventure series following twins Zane and Finola, who must travel incognito across Europe to reunite their family, learning about culture, empathy and the world of travel along the way.
Dee and Flee arrive at their first day as Happy Helpers at Miles of Smiles Adventure Park. Eager to make a fabulous impression, they have been busy practising their smiles all week – but is that all they need to have a brilliant day? How will they face the challenges that await them?
Dee is excited about her new job as a tour guide at haunted Howl Castle, but increasingly frustrated by working under suspicious supervisor Ms Prowl. A micro-manager with strict rules, Ms Prowl never listens to employees’ suggestions. Suspecting that Dee may be trying NEW ideas in her tours,
Ms Prowl and her assistant, Beak, continually check up on Dee. How will Dee cope when she is put in charge of a Castle Sleepover? And what happens when an undercover ‘Travel WOW!’ reporter visits the castle?
Dee’s new job takes Dee and Flee on the road, making sure school band the Jazzy Jammers have a trip to remember. Even with Dee’s careful planning, it’s not always a smooth ride, as the Jammers strut their stuff in caves and castles, forests and riverboats. Dee learns that sometimes you just have to ‘go with the flow’ – but can she stop grumpy driver Walt Whine and three very naughty turtles from wrecking her plans for the band’s festival finale at Planet Jazz?
Dee and Flee are the ultimate duo behind the pop-up Slushie Bar on Paradise Beach! It’s the loveliest beach on Jewel Island, but it’s drowning in litter – and Dee’s determined to make a difference. Can she persuade people to be Litter Heroes instead of litterbugs? She hopes so, but there’s a villain in town just as determined to trash Paradise Beach – and Dee’s plans!
Lovey and Joy Honeytail run the prettiest, cosiest hotel on the ski slopes. When Dee joins their family hotel team it feels like the best job ever – and she and Flee learn to ski! But when Lovey and Joy fall out, the family takes sides, and Dee and Flee are left in the middle trying to keep some very strange guests happy.
After being forced to flee from their home planet, twins Zane and Finola find themselves on Earth. Dad is lost and Mum is no longer able to teleport, meaning that it is up to the twins to reunite their family. With such a large reward on offer for whoever is able to find the ‘aliens’, Zane and Finola can’t trust anyone and must make sure that they never break cover on their tour of planet Earth.
Zane and Finola find themselves at a country fete on a very special day – the treasure hunt at the castle. They are soon swept up in the search for clues with the help of a local girl, Sylvie. When Finola catches sight of Nick Robinson, the twins know it is time to escape, but they are torn. Completing the treasure hunt will almost certainly bring them one step closer to Dad.
In this third book in the Searchlight series, Zane and Finola continue their race to reunite their family. With danger close behind and clues in short supply, it’s Mum’s sharp eye and puzzle-solving prowess that might just lead them to Dad’s location. But can they stay one step ahead, blend in when it counts, and finally bring the family back together?
Zane’s teleporting skills are diminishing, but he must make the journey to Balacira. After a long and exhausting trip, Zane is reunited with Finola and Nick. Nick engineers a meeting with Dad in a remote part of the hotel grounds, but unbeknownst to the family, a hotel employee is watching and reports them to the authorities. Having been discovered, the twins and Dad are suddenly surrounded by journalists. What will happen to Dad, and will Zane and Finola make it back home without the journalists following them?
To help bring these stories to children across Europe in their own languages, ETC offers a Publishing Support Grant to publishers who wish to translate and publish the Dee and Flee or Searchlight titles locally.
A grant of up to €3,500 per title is available for the published translation of either “Searchlight” or “Dee and Flee” series, with an additional €500 for marketing. Publishers may apply for grants for one or both titles, submitting separate applications for each.
Who can apply
To be considered for this grant, publishers must be located in one of the European Travel Commission’s member countries and specialise in publishing in one of these countries’ national languages.
How to apply
Contact Graffeg (or their rights agent, The Rights Solution) to check language rights availability and request a copy of the titles.
Prepare an application including publisher and translator details, proposed print run, cost evaluation, other funding sources, and a publishing schedule.
Submit your application for review.
Applicants must provide comprehensive details, including publisher and translator information, proposed first print run, cost evaluation, additional funding sources, and a publishing schedule. Preliminary contact with Graffeg or their rights agent, The Rights Solution, is necessary to ensure the exclusivity of language editions.
For more information on both titles, please email Graffeg. For more information about the grant and how to apply, please email Teodora Marinska.
