Liverpool has formally received its official WorldHost Recognised Destination award – the first city in Great Britain to achieve this status.
A number of organisations, led by Merseytravel, secured funding to provide customer service training for more than 4000 staff in the visitor economy, retail and transport services.
WorldHost customer service training has been used to train over one million people worldwide, which includes tens of thousands of volunteers and staff at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics. Originally developed in Canada, and adapted for the UK market by the People 1st Training Company.
In the City Region, as well as helping to train volunteers who were supporting IFB 2014, the scheme has also been used by businesses and organisations such as Liverpool John Lennon Airport and taxi drivers who were involved in big summer events across the City Region including the Giants Spectacular and the Open Golf at Hoylake.
Robert Hough, Chair of Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, received the award from People 1st at a reception in Liverpool Town Hall hosted by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Erica Kemp.
Robert Hough said: “I am delighted to formally receive this award. As a result of this training, visitors will experience even better customer service from our retailers, hospitality and tourism businesses. This in turn encourages more visitors to spread the word and make a return visit, boosting profitability of our sector.”
Carol Dutton, HR Director at Liverpool John Lennon Airport – one of the companies to benefit from the training, said: “This training has been extremely useful for staff to improve customer service skills, from those working in ground handling to retailers and caterers – all roles which can impact on the journey experience.
“It has been a useful way for workers across the airport to learn more about what’s happening across the Liverpool City Region and it has also helped the ‘airport community’ all work together and share our experiences, which we don’t often have the opportunity to do.”
Simon Kitto, Head of Sales at People 1st, said: “It’s wonderful to see a city such as Liverpool embrace high customer service standards and achieve WorldHost Recognised Destination status as it can only have a positive effect on the whole city. Congratulations to everyone involved – you’re setting the standard for the rest of Great Britain!”