Visit Britain adding value: tips on welcoming overseas visitors to the UK
Sofia Gkiousou | Thursday, August 12th, 2010 | 3 Comments »
I really wish I could use a photograph of John Cleese from Fawlty Towers in this post or some of his memorable lines to the German tourists (you have to watch it if you haven’t even though I can’t imagine anyone has missed it).
I digress.
Visit Britain just published some tips on welcoming overseas visitors to the UK.
Britain’s national tourism agency has extensively revised its markets and trends profiles as part of its campaign to help enhance cultural awareness, avoid misunderstandings and boost UK performance in caring for customers.
I love the fact that the tips have been written by VisitBritain staff, who are natives of the countries featured. It gives a more personal touch to the advice and even though they can never be absolutely true for everyone they can provide a sufficient guide for people to err on the side of safety rather than just outright insult visitors. I would heartily recommend going through the profiles, even if you are a native of the country in question (or especially then) – you’ll find some surprising bits of info!
This sort of information is invaluable to a hospitality and /or tourism professional, especially if you expect visitors in the run up and during the Olympics. The press coverage might just list some of the interesting items (we saw a tongue in cheek video on The Guardian by Adam Gabbatt and Alice Salfield which was lovely) but the hard core stats are of real value.
The message that Visit Britain gives to tourism professionals out there is pretty clear from our point of view. Don’t rely on what you think, find information, learn, make visitors feel welcome and don’t judge by your own view of the world.
We see this with our clients from time to time. It’s easy to regard something as ‘normal’, it’s only human nature at the end of the day. However, dismissing an alternative take – especially from an overseas visitor – is not only potentially insulting but downright bad for business.
It’s great to see that Visit Britain adds real value.
Visit Britain adding value: tips on welcoming overseas visitors to the UK http://bit.ly/bdPrQW via @SoMaFusion
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
“don’t mention the war”
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