Workshops focus on preparing for Olympics

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism has launched an initiative to help its business partners prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C. The 2010 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled Feb. 12- 28 and will be followed by the Paralympic Winter Games, also in Vancouver, March 12- 21.

Approximately 10,000 media representatives will attend and 1.8 million tickets for events will be sold, many of them to tourists from throughout the world. BWCT will present four workshops per year in 2008 and 2009 to members participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative.

Workshops will cover many topics, including customerservice training, team building, telephone skills, marketing strategies, diversity and culture awareness, and understanding the needs of visitors. Participants also will have access to up to four additional audio and/or Internet training events each year that will be led by national business experts, plus quarterly Internet forums.

Other benefits include a quarterly e-newsletter covering business topics for the Olympics, plus international marketing efforts in coordination with Ferndale-based PRWeb.

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism will offer the Winter Olympics Service Initiative to its 400 members at a substantially reduced rate of $149 per year or $249 for two years. BWCT also will make the training program available to its economic development partners from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., on a space-available basis.

For information about participating in the Winter Olympics Service Initiative, call Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism at 671-3990