think smile

“International travellers have never had so many opportunities. So what will make them visit your establishment? The answer is a warm welcome and knowing how to anticipate their needs.” Simon Calder, travel broadcaster and Senior Travel Editor of The Independent

Visitors from abroad are good news for tourism businesses in the East Midlands. They usually stay longer and spend more than British visitors and they like our traditions and culture.

But international visitors offer a number of challenges such as language, cultural differences, outdated perceptions and an unwillingness to explore the unknown.

Think smile is a business support book to help attract customers from overseas. It shows how to overcome challenges and look after overseas visitors so that they’ll enjoy every minute of their time in the region. The guide is the third in a series of ‘Q-books’ (Q for Quality) developed by East Midlands Tourism with the local destination partners. It is for all tourism businesses across the six counties.

The think smile Q-book is packed with:

• Practical business tips
• Market insight
• Case studies
• Video clips – hear more from Simon Calder
• Quick-learning language podcasts

View the Q-book

Full online version

Text only

PDF

• Introduction and foreword (1.4MB)
• Essential first steps (3.5MB)
• Getting to know you (1.7MB)
• Attracting key markets (2MB)
• Mind your language (2.3MB)
• You are not alone (1.5MB)
• 2012 and beyond (668KB)
• Full think smile Q-book (13MB)

Foreign language learning Podcasts

• Japanese (192k)
• French (192k)
• German (192k)
• Dutch (192k)
• Chinese (192k)