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.
The Minister of Tourism, Hugh Robertson, has joined forces with Lady Cobham, VisitEngland’s Chairman, Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, Chair of London & Partners and tourism businesses in London, launched English Tourism Week 2013 (16-24 March) – shining a light on the importance of customer service in the industry with the announcement of 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.
Photo caption (from left to right): David Curtis-Brignell Chairman of English Tourism Week; Tracy Duggan National Skills Academy for Retail, Lady Cobham Chairman of VisitEngland, Minister of Tourism Hugh Robertson, Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas Chair of London and Partners, Caitriona McCabe Tower Bridge Experience, Simon Kitto People 1st. The group were onboard the Dixie Queen, Britain’s largest conference and event boat, based by Tower Bridge.
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