2010 FIFA Language Courses

International House introduces 2010 FIFA World Cup language courses for the Hospitality & Tourism sectors   

Cape Town, 20 July 2009: International House World Organisation (IHWO) recently opened an affiliate language school in Cape Town, South Africa.  The IHWO is a network of language schools worldwide that are committed to implementing high standards of quality and innovation in education and training. IHWO is one of the largest groups of language schools, teaching English and 25 modern languages in 150 schools in 50+ countries since 1953.

IH Cape Town Language Institute (IH Cape Town) has now launched its Portuguese and Spanish language courses, catering for basic and intermediate levels and offered in groups or as private lessons. Bespoke Portuguese/Spanish courses are also available for individual groups or corporate clients, catering for specific industry or special interest topics.  “We are extremely excited at the launch of our 2010 FIFA World Cup language programmes . Specially designed for the Hospitality & Tourism sectors , these courses are aimed at service personnel to enable them to interact with visiting tourists, thereby  enriching their overall experience. It will deal with basic greetings, general customer service phrases , important vocabulary and a general  understanding of the different cultures”, says Gavin Eyre , Managing Director of IH Cape Town.

“Customer service is an important ingredient of the total visitor experience. Since language and communication are central to this, CTRU supports the essential work and programmes of language schools in our destination,” says Cape Town Routes Unlimited CEO, Calvyn Gilfellan.

With the recent success of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the passionate support for teams from Latin America and Europe, it is anticipated that large numbers of Spanish and Portuguese speaking tourists will visit South Africa for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “The upskilling of staff is vital to ensure that we offer a world class service. Welcoming and assisting visitors in their own language will go a long way in creating lasting impressions” says Howard Johnson, chairperson of SATSA Western Cape. It is critical to ensure that not only do all tourists enjoy their visit, but also leave with a favourable impression of South African hospitality and its tourist attractions.

“Following the previous FIFA World Cup held in Germany, the host country was able to increase international leisure tourism by 33% year-on-year, and international business tourism by 47% in the hosting city of Berlin, by deliberately converting visitors to brand advocates for destination Germany and achieving a Net Promoter Score of 88% - that is, 88% of visitors stating that they will recommend destination Germany back home to their friends and colleagues”, writes Dr Nikolaus Eberl [ author of the bestselling book BrandOvation] in a recent article.

For further information please visit www.ihcapetown.com

General Enquiries
Mr. Jonathan Thompson
IH Cape Town Language Institute (Pty) Ltd
Email: jonathan@ihcapetown.com
Tel: +27 21 433 0546