Thousands of companies across the region are being offered free training in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this year.
The new training programme has 7,000 places and is aiming to prepare tourism businesses from across the West Midlands to welcome visitors for the sporting spectacle.
Around 3.7 million people are expected to engage with both the games itself and the associated six-month Birmingham 2022 Festival starting in March which has prompted business chiefs in the region to launch the free 'Getting Games Ready' training programme.
It will be based on the WorldHost customer service programme which has been used to train thousands of people for events including the London 2012 Olympics, 2015 Rugby World Cup and The Golf Open in 2019.
Areas of focus on the programme will include equipping businesses to highlight the best of what West Midlands destinations have to offer, providing accurate and accessible information to visitors and promote the region as a place to visit, stay and invest.
Andrew Lovett, chairman the West Midlands Regional Board for Tourism, said: "The Getting Games Ready programme is an important tool for local businesses to access ahead of the games, allowing visitor-facing staff to enhance customer service skills and local knowledge of the West Midlands.
"This training will ensure that the experiences of visitors to Birmingham and the West Midlands are positive and memorable, encouraging people to return and enjoy our region's great visitor attractions and world-class hospitality time and again."
The project is being delivered as part of the Business and Tourism Programme, a three-year initiative which aims to leverage the profile of the 2022 Commonwealth Games to, among other objectives, attract more international and domestic tourists and additional major events to the West Midlands and wider UK.
Sports and Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston MP added: "Birmingham 2022 is an incredible chance to promote the West Midlands as a premier tourism destination.
"This programme will help local businesses provide a first-class service to visitors this summer so the industry can capitalise on this once-in-a-generation opportunity."
