Hundreds of ‘customer care scouts’ sought in new campaign to find Bournemouth’s brightest tourism stars

The National Coastal Tourism Academy – a partnership between Bournemouth Borough Council, Bournemouth University and the tourism industry – is searching for hundreds of ‘scouts’ in a new campaign to reward top levels of customer service across the town.

The academy is recruiting scouts from every sector of the town including residents, students, public sector employees and staff from across the workforce.

These lookouts will be people who nominate staff for an outstanding customer service award as they are out and about in restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, shops and hotels – anywhere visitors might venture.

The campaign follows on from the success of the academy’s Customer Care Champions scheme.

Scores of hospitality staff have been nominated for awards, with eight winning the top accolade and receiving a retail voucher.

These have included staff from a range of businesses including a barman at The Cumberland Hotel, waitresses at The Print Room and Flirt Café, and a seafront ranger who worked late into the night to find a missing child.

Richardson, National Coastal Tourism Academy director, said: “We’re hoping to enlist many hundreds of Customer Care Scouts from every business and district in the town.

“This is about driving up the standards of service everywhere in Bournemouth to encourage visitors to return time after time. And naturally it benefits resident’s leisure experiences too.

“Research tells us that visitors will return if they feel they’ve had exceptional service, so we’re on a mission to make Bournemouth the top coastal resort in the country for customer care.

Far from tinkering at the edges, this campaign will boost repeat visits, increase the local tourism economy, currently worth £464m, and create new jobs.”

Anyone interested can download a recommendation form on www.coastaltourismacademy.co.uk on the visitor experience page or contact champions@coastalt ourismacademy.co.uk