Are you ready to welcome the world to Northern Ireland in 2012?

Tourism Minister Arlene Foster and Employment and Learning Minister Dr Stephen Farry, has urged Northern Ireland’s tourism and hospitality industry to grasp the opportunities available to the sector in 2012 and beyond. Launching WorldHost, an internationally renowned customer service training programme, the Ministers addressed over 190 delegates at the event in the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel [...]

Six-month countdown begins for businesses to get ready for the Games

Today (Friday 27th January) marks six months until London hosts the 2012 Olympic Games (27th July – 12th August) and businesses have some work to do to make sure they are ready to welcome visitors to the UK. In a survey by the People 1st Training Company, 73 percent of people agreed that Britain needs [...]

Nominate Your Local Tourism Superstar

With English Tourism Week fast approaching, VisitEngland has teamed up with Mirror Travel to find the nation’s unsung travel industry hero. The competition is looking for someone who “goes above and beyond the call of duty and is a real ambassador for the local area. Knowledgeable and friendly, they embody the soul of an English [...]

Scottish businesses urged to prepare NOW to maximise their share of Olympic Games revenues

With the UK now on the final countdown to the start of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, the People 1st Training Company is offering free taster sessions for Scottish businesses in the hospitality, tourism and passenger transport sectors to help improve the quality of their customer service training and enhance the experience [...]

Mike Williams – The WOW Factor

Many hospitality companies talk about empowering their staff but Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have taken the concept to a different level with their WOW Campaign. In it, staff from all departments are trained and actively encouraged to reward customers by offering complimentary goods or services beyond what they could be expected. What makes this [...]

David Fairhurst – ‘Leadership Training in the Internet Age’

Vice president, people for McDonald’s Europe, David Fairhurst, explains that things have changed dramatically for their restaurant managers over the last decade, which has resulted in fundamental changes to the company’s approach to career development. Its training programmes, amongst the best in our industry, have always been designed to develop the management skills of the [...]

What Do You Want?

Many businesses from the hospitality sector have been calling for an organisation that brings together employers, associations, training companies and individuals to promote training and help improve the reputation of the sector. In response to this, People 1st is asking visitors to its websites who work, or want to work, in the hospitality industry, to [...]

PACE Conference & Exhibition 2012 to inspire the entrepreneur within!

Maintaining and improving provision and quality with reduced funding is the stark reality and challenge faced by the hospitality and culinary education sector, and the theme of the PACE (Professional Association for Catering Education) Conference Exhibition 2012: Entrepreneur – Enterprise in our Curriculum, 21-23 March 2012, Hilton Blackpool. PACE is committed to supporting its members [...]

B&B provides stunning service to match the views thanks to WorldHost

The Snowdonia National Park is well-known for its stunning scenery but now a Tal-y-Llyn B&B is hoping to put the area on the map for world class hospitality skills. Staff at The Old Rectory on the lake have undergone WorldHost training to ensure they are equipped with industry leading customer service skills and impeccable local [...]