Meeting News - January 5, 2009 - (Page 32)

East Regional Baltimore to Deploy Army of Tourism Ambassadors This past October, the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association (BACVA) announced a major coup: Beginning in 2010, it will host for five years Reed Travel Exhibitions’ new North American trade show, the Americas Incentive, Business Travel, and Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM). The first event is expected to attract more than 3,000 global industry attendees to Baltimore. In order to welcome delegates and other visitors, BACVA has begun training front-line hospitality workers as part of the Tourism Ambassador Institute’s (TAI) Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) Network. Said BACVA president and CEO Tom Noonan: “You’ve been out to dinner before. If you get lousy service, do you go back? That’s [the training program] in a nutshell. We’re trying to educate all our front-line employees—restaurant workers, hoteliers, cab drivers, convention center staff, airport personnel, and anyone else—so that people will want to come back [to Baltimore].” BACVA spent six months developing the Baltimore Tourism Ambassador Program with TAI and officially launched it last August. Its first-year goal is to train 750 people; at the turn of the year, BACVA had already trained 511 people, according to Noonan, who would like to see as many as several thousand CTAs roaming the streets of downtown Baltimore eventually. “Our convention district is relatively small,” Noonan said, “so if we can train a couple thousand people, it’s pretty likely you’re going to run across a CTA.” Destinations in six other states—Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Washington, and Wisconsin—are currently participating in the two-year-old CTA Network, while at least three other cities—Anaheim; Fayetteville, NC; and Washington, DC—have ambassador training programs in development. Baltimore, however, is the first destination in the Northeast to join the program, and according to Noonan, is the only participant to have a full-time staffer overseeing things— BACVA’s director of training Eric Masterton-Mott. CTA certification costs participants $49 each and must be renewed annually. The program requires four to eight hours of reading, a five-hour class, and a rigorous final exam that covers customer service principles. Baltimore ambassadors also must learn the city’s geography, culture, and history. Beginning within the next six months, the curriculum will include a multicultural etiquette component to help Baltimore prepare for AIBTM and its influx of international participants. —Matt Alderton The Resort For Your Meetings. The Spa For Your Body. The Golf For Your Spirit. The Berkshires For Your Soul. 18-hole Golf Course 35,000 sq. ft. Spa Year-round Resort For meetings they will never forget, hold them in a place they will never want to leave. With 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, wireless Internet and a complete Business Center, Cranwell is the perfect place for meetings and conferences from 2 to 200. The resort features 114 rooms, 3 restaurants, a championship 18-hole golf course, Cranwell Golf School, and a state-of-the-art spa and ﬁtness center, featuring a 60-foot pool in a glass-enclosed atrium. We Offer… • • • • 111 Waterfront Guest Rooms Waterfront Meeting Facilities Complimentary Wireless Internet Pete Dye 18 Hole Championship Golf Course • Massage Services, Tennis Courts and Pool • Sail and Fishing Charters Available All Inclusive Conference Packages Include… • Waterfront Guest Room • Conference Room • Continental Breakfast, Buffet Lunch, Served Dinner • Coffee Breaks • In-house conference planner and technical staff • Standard A/V Equipment • Complimentary Parking LENOX, MASSACHUSETTS For reservations, call 800-572-8938 or visit www.cranwell.com 800.446.9066 | harbourtowne.com 32 MeetingNews January 5, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.cranwell.com http://www.harbourtowne.com http://www.cranwell.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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