Visitors Promised a Quality Welcome to Cornwall

Key tourism figures from across the county came together at Newquay Cornwall Airport on Monday 29^th March to celebrate the launch of an innovative customer service programme which aims to drive up quality across the county.

‘Welcome to Cornwall' is a one-day course which mixes customer service training with destination knowledge and is designed to inspire people employed within tourist related businesses to share their passion for the county and give a genuine warmth of welcome to visitors.  It forms part of the nationally accredited Welcome to Excellence series of training programmes which are run by South West Tourism in the region, and builds on the tried and tested Welcome Host Plus course which develops customer service and communication skills.

Financed by the Learning Skills Council and delivered by Newquay for Excellence Training, the course has the full support of VisitCornwall, the official tourist board for the county, and is being herald as Cornwall's weapon in the bid to become the most welcoming UK visitor destination.

Malcolm Bell, Head of Tourism at VisitCornwall comments:
"The Welcome to Cornwall training programme is an excellent vehicle for creating a consistent and quality approach to customer service and I'd urge the industry to support it. We want employees to enjoy the Welcome to Cornwall experience, learn more about the county and then go out and spread the word."

Helen Jones, Training Manager at South West Tourism, adds:
"It's fantastic news that Cornwall is investing to empower businesses with strong customer service skills and destination knowledge. Businesses that invest in training are enhancing their staff skills in addition to increasing their confidence, motivation, and making them feel more valued.

We were delighted to be involved in facilitating the development of the ‘Welcome to Cornwall' course.  Cornwall is leading the way in destination focused customer service training and we hope that other areas will follow their lead in developing tailored courses to enhance the customer service skills across the region as a whole."

In partnership with Newquay for Excellence Training and VisitCornwall, Newquay Cornwall Airport has spearheaded the development of the Welcome to Cornwall training programme and is the first business to sign-up all of its employees to the course.

Managing Director of the Airport, Al Titterington, comments:
"The Airport is a gateway to Cornwall and the quality of service that we provide affects visitors first and last impression of the County. With this is mind we are keen to ensure we provide the best welcome possible and also enrich visitor's experience of Cornwall by helping them to get the most out of their stay. The ‘Welcome to Cornwall' programme has my full support and having completed it myself I can testify that the product knowledge and skills that it develops will be extremely beneficial to Cornwall's visitor economy."

Businesses with visitor contact from hotels to taxi companies are now invited to register their interest in the course by contacting:

Newquay for Excellence Training 
Tel:  01637 871067
Email: claireevans@nfet.co.uk

The first fifty places are offered FREE of charge!

Date added: Tuesday 30th March 2010
Latest updated: Thursday 8th March 2012