Best Practice - Lincolndshire Ambassador

Case Study

Lincolnshire Ambassador

A bespoke, product knowledge online course for tourism staff throughout Lincolnshire

visit coastaltourismacademy.co.uk

visit coastaltourismacademy.co.uk

The Project Since its launch in May 2013, Bournemouth Ambassador has sparked interest from other coastal destinations which have seen the benefit of having a flexible online product knowledge course. Representatives from Lincolnshire were the first to express an interest in having the system replicated for their tourism staff.

The Background The county of Lincolnshire has a vast choice for tourists, from the iconic towers of Lincoln Cathedral and the rolling chalk hills of the Wolds, to its market towns and the vast, open coastline. Lincolnshire is home to muchloved seaside resorts – Skegness, Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea. Tourism research had identified the lack of resort knowledge as a key issue, so tourism bosses were keen to develop a bespoke, online training resource that addressed the needs of the whole county but also offered practical advice on customer service.

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Case Study : Lincolnshire Ambassador

The Client It is vital that all parties involved check the quality of the data and provide a range of answers and questions in the quizzes, including the right answer.

Careful thought needs to go into the quizzes – what information do staff need to know and retain? What questions are staff likely to be asked by visitors? Large sections on statistics and dates are difficult to remember.

Consideration should also be given to the amount of copy provided, too little and there isn’t enough for the learner to absorb, too much is overwhelming and unlikely to be retained.

Having a central repository to store images and copy smoothed the process.

All parties need to be clear about what is in and out of scope, responsibilities during and after the project. The site requires maintenance in terms of content so resource needs to be available.

If the course covers a large area, one designated co-ordinator is useful to avoid repetition and to ensure editorial accuracy and tone of voice.

The Action The NCTA established the technical requirements of a new site and liaised with Lincolnshire representatives regarding content. Since Lincolnshire draws tourists across the county, the new course was split into three regions Lincoln, East Lincolnshire and Greater Lincolnshire, including Skegness – all learners are directed to the Customer Care module and then pick the region relevant to them before receiving their Lincolnshire Ambassador certificate.

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Case Study : Lincolnshire Ambassador

Results The new Lincolnshire Ambassador site went live on 28th January 2015, results are currently being monitored.

Conclusion

Learning from the success of Bournemouth Ambassador for one resort helped the NCTA develop an expanded version for a county.

This could be replicated for other coastal resorts since the need for strong product knowledge is a universal problem.

Its success will be monitored and evaluated throughout 2015.

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