The 2012 Games are forecast to benefit the UK hospitality industry in many ways, from enhancing the levels of visitors to Britain, to triggering improvements in our customer service levels. So whilst not every tourism business will see a direct commercial gain from the short period of the Games, the whole of the UK’s economy is set to reap the long-term benefits of the staging the world’s biggest event.
The Games are forecast to generate over £2 billion in tourism gains for the whole of the UK during the period 2007 to 2017, according to a study by Oxford Economics, with 54% of this coming after the Games have finished. These gains are generated largely by higher numbers of visitors from overseas who are motivated to visit the UK and London as a consequence of publicity associated with the Games. The 2012 Games are forecast to attract global television audiences of around 4 billion viewers, raising more interest in the UK and increasing the amount of visitors before and after the games.
The 2012 Games offer London and Britain a once-in-a-generation chance to project Britain as a welcoming hospitable country and ultimately to inspire international and European visitors to our shores.
The 2012 Games also motivates the UK’s hospitality industry to improve the quality of its hospitality, welcome and customer service. The UK is currently ranked fifth in the Nations Brand Index Survey where countries are evaluated against a wide range of criteria. But it slips to 13th for its perceived ‘Welcome’. People 1st’s State of the Nation 2010 research report highlighted that 65% of businesses reporting skills gaps stated staff lacked necessary customer service skills. Training schemes such as the World Class Customer Service Course for both your front of house staff and supervisors aims to raise the standards in the industry in preparation for the Games, but also enables managers to manage their employees to deliver the best customer service on a continuous basis post the Games. Therefore this course ensures that once the course has been delivered to your staff that the mangers can facilitate the learning on a continuous basis creating sustainable excellent customer service, helping to provide a world-class welcome for our visitors and continuing that service after the games have finished. The aim is to increase the chance of recommendation and customer loyalty in Britain, so lets work together in order to make Britain a more hospitable place to visit. |