Waterford aims to win tourists with front-of-house tourism staff

STAFF who will meet and greet the tens of thousands of tourists and visitors to Waterford this year are being invited to a unique, one-day hospitality training event in mid-June.

With the busy tourism season moving into top gear, a training initiative which combines Waterford destination awareness with quality customer care has been launched. Developed by the Visit-Net Tourism Project Office at Waterford County Council and Waterford Institute of Technology, Welcome Waterford will provide an overview of the value of tourism as well as modules on what to see and do in the city and county. It also stresses the importance of sourcing and managing information and of excellent customer care.

According to Máiread Linneen of Visit-Net, one of the biggest challenges facing the tourism industry in Waterford has always been how it retains a greater share of the visitors who pass through en route to the south-west of Ireland or the ferry terminal at Rosslare.

“We feel that one key way to tackle corridor tourism is by equipping front-of-house staff to provide visitors with additional information on all that Waterford has to offer. As well as encouraging longer stays and greater frequency of return visits, this approach will help increase job satisfaction among staff who will know they are enriching the visitor experience in a very real and direct way.”

The seminars are timed to ensure frontline staff in the tourism and hospitality sector are equipped with the knowledge and up-to-date information that will allow them to become high-quality ambassadors during the forthcoming high season.

Gary Breen of South-East Tourism welcomed the initiative. “They will not only enhance the experience of visitors to Waterford but also enhance the powerful word of mouth promotion of what the city and county have to offer.”

Anyone requiring further information about Visit-Net or, specifically, the briefing sessions to be held in Waterford on June 14 and 15 should contact Visit-Net on 058-21196 or email [e-mail]. Registration forms are also available online at www.visit-net.com.