Preparing For 2012

2012 will be a huge year for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism businesses, as half a million visitors descend on the UK for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the eyes of the world fall on our visitor offering.

With a potential £2bn in tourism revenue on offer, it's an unprecedented opportunity to transform international perceptions of our visitor experience and create a lasting legacy for the future – delivering a healthy boost to businesses' bottom line in the process!

And the opportunities don't end there. With other major events being hosted across the UK over the next few years - including the 2012 Titanic Centenary Programme and the 2013 Derry City of Culture in Northern Ireland, the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and Homecoming in Scotland and the 2015 Rugby World Cup – it's the perfect time for businesses across the nation to start thinking about how they can deliver a world-class experience and drive repeat business for the future.

With this in mind, People 1st has developed a number of resources to help hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism businesses get into shape for 2012 and beyond:

‘Ahead of the Games'

This free, practical guide is designed to help businesses of all sizes prepare for, and capitalise on, the Olympic Games and other world-class events.

Packed with helpful tips, case studies and lessons learned from previous hosts of the Games – from getting your staffing rotas right, to identifying local commercial opportunities - it will get you thinking about how your business can benefit.

Download your copy now (PDF)

WorldHost customer service training

Research shows that almost three in four Brits think our customer service needs improving in the run-up to the Olympics. And it's worth the effort - when embedded in the organisational culture, customer service training can boost your sales by as much as 10 percent.

To help businesses perfect their welcome for 2012 and beyond, People 1st has brought the WorldHost suite of customer service training programmes to the UK. WorldHost, which has been awarded the 2012 Inspire mark by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, includes programmes on the Principles of Customer Service, Customers With Disabilities, Service Across Cultures and the Ambassador Workshop.

Find out more on the WorldHost website.

Research

The Olympic readiness section of our State of the Nation 2011 report takes a detailed look at how hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism businesses are preparing for the 2012 Games, and benefitting from the lessons from the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

View the findings (PDF)