As part of a national campaign to build on the legacy of Scotland 2014, the campaign hopes to set a new customer service standard across 11 Scottish regions. The funding, which is provided by Skills Development Scotland and is worth £180,000 in the next 12 months alone, will be made available through the WorldHost Regional Destination Initiative - a national campaign being spearheaded by skills and workforce development charity People 1st.
Fergus Ewing said: “2014 has been a hugely successful year for Scottish tourism, with the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and Scottish Homecoming all shining the global spotlight on our fantastic country and providing a massive boost to our tourism economy.
“We need to make sure that we fully capitalise on the long term benefits these events will bring, and build a strong, consistent and high quality visitor experience that visitors will remember, and which will keep them returning to Scotland for many years to come.
“The WorldHost Destination Initiative is exactly the kind of project that will help us achieve this ambition, and I am confident that through the work of People 1st, Skills Development Scotland and the regional steering groups set up to support this initiative, we now have in place the game-changer that the tourism industry has been looking for.”
SMEs make up 82% of Scotland’s visitor economy business. Through the funding agreement, if they meet the qualification criteria, small businesses can save £40 per person on the cost of their WorldHost training.
David Allen, director of Scotland for People 1st, said: “Customer service is still a major issue for tourism businesses across Scotland. Our research tells us that 65% of hospitality and tourism businesses in Scotland feel that customer service skills need improving in their workforce.
“That’s why we brought the WorldHost programmes to Scotland. Businesses that have already undertaken the training have noticed the difference it makes, from improved sales to increased staff motivation through to positive feedback from customers and higher repeat customer levels.
“The partnership approach that we’re taking with the WorldHost Regional Destination Initiative across Scotland is key to its success – for the first time the Scottish visitor economy is working together to raise the consistency and quality of its customer service offer. It’s fantastic to see businesses of all sizes and local authorities working together to make a difference and create a welcome that Scotland can be proud of!”
WorldHost customer service training has been used to train over 150,000 people in the UK, including tens of thousands of volunteers and staff at the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics and 3,000 ScotRail staff as part of their preparations for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.