Welcoming the World ...

Regional Language Network London (RLN London) has developed the Welcoming the World training programme with funding from the London Development Agency to drive up standards for our international welcome before, during and after the 2012 Games.

LT&RC will now be delivering this training as a compliment to its

highly successful London Ambassador programme.

Each year, London welcomes over 26 million overseas visitors to the capital and more than 13 million of these come from outside the UK. Visitors come to the capital on business, as tourists and to visit friends and family.

During their stay, however long or short, they want to enjoy the many things that London has to offer: hospitality, shopping, sightseeing, travel and entertainment etc.

Visitors to London, and the wider country are affected by the welcome they receive and may be influenced by the way they are greeted, accepted, regarded and respected, so it is important to get these skills right.

This course is designed to help people who work, or who are seeking work, in frontline positions in hospitality, tourism, transport, retail and/or leisure. It focuses on ways of improving and developing the customer service skills necessary to communicate with and serve international visitors. It is also suitable for volunteers and ambassadors who work with international visitors.

Providing a warm welcome and good customer support is vital, but many visitors to London do not have the same cultural background nor speak the same language as we do. Some may have different expectations of service, different ways of “doing things” and different standards. To help, we need to develop an understanding of the ways in which we communicate with people from other cultures, and especially those who do not speak the same first language as us.

Resources:

 

A workbook for the module (tailored to each group in the pilot phase);A reference booklet on Intercultural Skills which includes cultural briefings for China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Middle East, Poland, Russia, Spain, the USA. This will be online from mid-April 2008;A phrasebook with key customer service phrases in twelve languages. This will be available from mid-April 2008.What does the programme involve?

The programme is an nteractive and practical one-day course that includes:

 

Intercultural Skills (the skills needed to serve and communicate with people from other cultures effectively and sensitively);Customer service advice for visitors from two of the following: China, the Middle East, India, France and Poland;Taster sessions in ‘meet and greet’ phrases for two of the languages spoken in the countries and territories above.