2013-03-15 — /travelprnews.com/ — Ahead of English Tourism Week (16 – 24 March 2013), the Minister of Tourism, Hugh Robertson, Lady Cobham, VisitEngland’s Chairman, Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, Chair of London & Partners and tourism businesses in London shone a light on the importance of customer service in the industry by launching a series of free WorldHost training sessions for tourism and retail businesses around the country.
The free taster sessions, run by the National Skills Academy for Retail which is part of the government’s national skills sector council People 1st, will provide tourism businesses with an insight into how the WorldHost training programme can help them improve their customer service and ultimately boost their bottom line. WorldHost has been used to train over one million people worldwide and was used to train 70,000 Games-makers and over 9,000 volunteers at the 2012 London Olympic & Paralympic Games last year.
Free sessions will take part in several locations across the country including London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Chester. In addition to hearing from high profile local business mentors, businesses will also be given an insight into how they can access Government funding through the Employer Ownership fund which is designed to help develop and grow their staff and business.
Following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Britain’s ‘Nation Brand’ perception improved overall by moving up from fifth to fourth place out of 50 major countries around the world with welcome jumping up three places to 9th position *.
New research from the People 1st State of the Nation 2013 Report**, due to be released during English Tourism Week, shows 88% of employers in the hospitality and tourism sector identified customer service skills as the most important required to grow their businesses over the next 5 years. Having said this, 61 per cent of employers identified customer handling as the skill which most commonly needed improvement and was the number one skills concern for the future.
Minister for Tourism Hugh Robertson said:
“In 2012 we welcomed the world as the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games showed our country at its best. We want to build on that and continue to drive growth for the tourism industry. The standard of customer service and care can make or break people’s experience and perception of our country so I urge the sector to get behind this initiative as part of English Tourism Week.”
VisitEngland Chairman Lady Cobham said:
“This initiative is a key part of how we see the legacy from the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games benefitting the tourism industry. The welcome and customer care we extend to our visitors is crucial to our success as a competitive destination on the world tourism stage so I would urge businesses to take advantage of these taster sessions and ensure that we continue to be perceived as a warm and inviting country.”
English Tourism Week 2013 is designed to raise the profile and importance of tourism and showcase the value of the industry to local communities and to the national economy. The initiative ran for the first time last year, and saw over 500 special activities and promotions celebrating tourism in England – the national tourist board is hoping that this year’s festivities will be even bigger and better!
Visitor attractions across England, accommodation providers and tourism operators will be putting on special events aimed at reminding local residents of the fantastic wealth of tourism experiences on their doorstep.
For details on how to take part in these free WorldHost taster sessions contact sairina@nsaforretail.com or call 0207 462 5060.
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For a high-res image or for more information, contact:
Sarah Long, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: 020 7578 1452, Mob: 07500555651, Email:sarah.long@visitengland.org www.visitengland.org
Emma White, Corporate Communications Executive Tel 020 7578 1471, Email: emmalucy.white@visitengland.org
Notes to Editors
• More information on English Tourism Week including event ideas and an online toolkit including logos, posters and flyers can be found on the official website, www.englishtourismweek.co.uk.
• *The full report can be found on /bounce.aspx?PG=http://www.visitbritain.org/Images/Foresight%20-%20issue%20111_tcm29-36008.pdf
About VisitEngland
• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors
• Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org, for consumer information see www.visitengland.com
About England
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £97 billion, and supports in excess of 2 million jobs
• More information can be found on www.enjoyengland.com and www.visitengland.org
About People 1st
• People 1st is the sector skills council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. We are working to transform skills in the sector, particularly in the areas of management and leadership, customer service and craft/technical skills. We are committed to ensuring that public funds support the industry to develop only those qualifications and programmes that meet the needs of employers.
About WorldHost
• WorldHost customer service training has been used to train over one million people worldwide. That includes the 70,000 Games-makers and over 9,000 volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, who were widely praised for the fantastic welcome they gave to visitors, as well as thousands of people in service-focused businesses across the country.
• Originally developed in Canada – widely recognised as the leading global destination for visitor welcome – and adapted for the UK market by the People 1st Training Company, the WorldHost programmes provide a gold standard in training for any business that relies on day-to-day interaction with customers for success. They are also the only customer service programmes in the UK that come with quality-assured trainers, regularly tested on their ability to deliver top-class training.
• Our aim is to transform customer service standards across the UK, and build the nation’s reputation as one of the most welcoming tourist destinations in the world. All of our programmes have been endorsed by Visit England, Visit Scotland, Visit Wales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
the country.