Cotswold tourism providers awarded hospitality qualification (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Cotswold tourism providers awarded hospitality qualification

5:30pm Thursday 24th May 2012 in News By Ian Craig

A BUSINESSWOMAN from Moreton-in-Marsh and three Cotswold District Council tourism officers have qualified for a prestigious tourism qualification.

Emma Karwacki, proprietor of the Railway Cottages holiday accomodation in Moreton-in-Marsh, along with Isobel Milne, Sally Graff and Wendy Dancer, all of who work in Tourist Information Centres across the region, recently achieved a City & Guilds qualification in Principles of Customer Service and the Welcome to Excellence Host Gold award.

The qualifications, which focus on hospitality, leisure and tourism, were presented with their awards by CDC cabinet lead for tourism and leisure services Barry Gibbs (Con, Tetbury) at the Moreton Area Centre on Monday.

Sally said the award was an essential qualification for staff working at the tourism information centres.

“These qualifications will help meet those requirements by enabling us to keep up to date with the latest techniques and thinking in the industry,” she said.

“I hope customers will feel reassured that we are well qualified to provide a thoroughly professional and informed service when we deal with a wide range of tourism and leisure issues.”

Emma added she felt the Host Gold award was an excellent course.

“Not only were we able to understand how to deal with that ‘difficult’ customer, it was also a great opportunity to meet people who we normally only speak to on the phone,” she added.

“No matter if you have been in and out of education or are just new to the industry, I feel that this course and many of the others that are available to us are valuable because they help us keep up with the changing demands of the customer.”

Speaking at the award ceremony, Cllr Gibbs was full of praise for their achievements.

“The City and Guilds qualification is a beacon of excellence and the award recipients have put in a lot of hard work to achieve the standard required - they deserve a big pat on the back for their efforts,” he said.

“With the succession of major events happening in the UK over the next few years, starting with the Olympics, the tourism business is set to become even greater especially in the Cotswolds.

“These awards exemplify the consistency and high standard of service our visitors will expect, including best practice in marketing and customer care, especially now that we are catering for a global multi-cultural market.

“The Welcome Host Gold course was particularly valuable because it was tailored to include content and knowledge specific to the destinations and businesses in the Cotswolds.”