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Welcoming international visitors

With the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on the horizon, there's never been a better time to prepare your business for even greater numbers of overseas visitors.

Online information and booking services in the language of your customer, a warm and friendly welcome, showing respect and an efficient and helpful customer service that takes into account cultural needs - all of these elements can create a lasting impression.

Want business advice on international communications?

You may need to greet customers at reception, help them with the menu or promote your attraction on the street. You can win and retain more business by speaking to your customers in their language.

Our guide on Welcoming international visitors is tailored for businesses wanting to make the most of overseas tourism in London.

• Consider the countries that your visitors come from, and 'badge' frontline staff with the languages they speak.
• Recruit people with language skills for 'front of house' roles.
• Supporting language training to improve the language skills of your team.
• Encourage your team to develop and share their knowledge of other cultures and countries.
• Train your staff to use clear, jargon-free English with international visitors.
• Translate important information such as visitor guides, menus, payment instructions, booking information and health and safety advice.
• Adapt your website so that visitors can make reservations and access key tourist information before they arrive in London.
• Use professional interpreters for face-to-face meetings, interviews, trade fairs and conferences.

Welcoming the World

RLN London's Welcoming the World programme helps people working in frontline roles give outstanding customer service to visitors from all around the world.

Find out about Welcoming the World customer service training and resources on the Talking to the World website.

Get essential vocabulary

Create a great first impression with international tourists and visitors, using our audio phrases.

You can hear recordings by native speakers and see a pronunciation guide of over 70 useful phrases in 11 different foreign languages. The phrases are divided into five sections: Welcome and greetings - Offering to help - Directions - Numbers, prices and time - Ending the conversation. Try the phrases now!

Learn from other businesses

Read case studies of other businesses who have succeeded through language and cultural knowledge and making good use of specialist services.

Alhambra Hotel (62KB, PDF) NEW!
Speaking eight languages, the team at this Kings Cross hotel pride themselves on their multilingual customer service - on the phone, on reception and online.

Hotel la Place (68KB, PDF)
An award-winning family-run hotel with international service from its multilingual staff at the heart of its success. The welcome they offer is further boosted by a multilingual website, translated menus and cultural briefings.

London Buses (60KB PDF) NEW!
Tailored Spanish language training is just the ticket for bus station controllers at Victoria station - and there may be more to come with the 2012 Games on the horizon.

London Underground (69KB PDF)
Serving visitors and residents of London in their language is a big challenge for London Underground. They make the most of native speaker language skills and encourage staff through language training and use of a phrase book.

New West End Company (65KB PDF)
Red Cap Wardens employed by New West End Company already make good use of their own language skills to help visitors out. Their intercultural skills and confidence with languages are boosted by RLN London's Welcoming the World training programme.

World Duty Free (67KB, PDF)
The airport retailer at Heathrow airport has made the most of its employees' native language skills, and strengthened their customer service through further language training and translated signage and flyers.

Useful links

BBC Languages - guides to language learning
BBC Languages - quick fix phrases
Foreign and Commonwealth Office - for profiles on every country in the world
Guardian World Factfiles - 195 country profiles
Visit London - London's official tourism organisation