2012 Games

Business and tourism

According to Visit Scotland in Germany, tourism websites with German language content receive seven times as many visits as those without.

2012 Games

Already, half of all overseas visitors to the UK spend time in London - and three out of four pass through the capital at some point. With the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, there's never been a better time to prepare your business for an even bigger influx of non-English speaking visitors. Ensuring that your business has a spread of languages - even at a basic level for meeting and greeting - will make overseas guests and customers feel welcome. Look through our case studies which include a London hotel (Hotel La Place) and tourist retailer (World Duty Free) for ideas on how you can make the Games pay.

RLN London has launched its Welcoming the World programme to help people working in frontline roles give great customer services to visitors from all around the world. It includes workshops and a wide range of downloadable resources.

Business prospectus
The CBI has launched an Olympics business prospectus in conjunction with leading business organisations and Arup. The prospectus champions the formation of a business club for 2012 and proposes five distinct business-led initiatives aimed at securing huge long term benefits for London's economic competitiveness. This includes the development of language skills.

Download the summary (PDF, 1.57 MB) Go
Download the full report (PDF, 3.87 MB) Go

London 2012 Business Network
The Business Network helps companies to compete for Games-related business opportunities either directly with London 2012 or with other suppliers in the chain. Visit the London 2012 Business Network website.

London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
The Chamber is playing a key role in getting businesses ready, including the creation of the 'London Business Network' - a business club aimed at promoting opportunities connected with 2012. Visit their website.

Think London
London's Inward Investment Agency, Think London, can keep you up to date with regular business bulletins on its website.

Visit London
The tourism agency for London can keep you up to date on business opportunities connected with tourism via their website.

Capital Stay
Hotels and B&Bs in London can now benefit from a new online package which gives practical advice on improving quality of service, making the most of the 2012 Games and tapping into new markets. The London Development Agency's (LDA) Capital Stay 'e-book' is part of its commitment to improving the quality of accommodation in the capital. Find out more.

RLN London and the Games
If you would like to learn more about RLN London's work towards the 2012 Games, visit the homepage of our mini-site here.

People 1st and customer service

People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism, has launched a skills strategy for the capital - which recognises clearly the part language and cultural skills have to play.

"Customer service, language and cultural awareness are the most essential skills requirements during the Olympics or any major sporting/international event." Catering manager, London

Language and cultural skills will form part of a new 'Gold Standard' for customer service which is being developed by People 1st and other Sector Skills Councils and stakeholders - with the support of RLN London.

Find out about People 1st's National Skills Strategy Go

Download People 1st's skills strategy for London Go

Language services

Translation of your information and promotional materials is vital in order to attract overseas visitors and make sure they feel welcome - and a little language training and cultural insight will go a long way. Go to our section on language services to find out more.

Heathrow talking to the world

Regional Language Network London completed a major language skills audit at Heathrow airport, funded by London West Learning and Skills Council and facilitated at the airport by BAA.

Building on the recommendations of the resulting report, RLN London co-ordinated a series of taster sessions in six languages attended by 60 employees at the airport in March 2006. Attendees were able to learn key phrases in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and Arabic, in order to assist passengers in their own language. As part of the project a series of Talking to the world taster packs in six languages was developed by Thames Valley University. These taster packs may well help your business, especially if you are in the aviation, travel or tourism industry. You can download the taster packs below:

Talking to the world in Arabic (PDF, 601 KB)
Talking to the world in French (PDF, 515 KB)
Talking to the world in German (PDF, 524 KB)
Talking to the world in Italian (PDF, 433 KB)
Talking to the world in Japanese (doc, 2.5 MB)
Talking to the world in Spanish (PDF, 429 KB)