Monday, July 29, 2002
Volunteers learn to welcome foreign visitors to Indianapolis
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS— As this city prepares to play host to thousands of visitors from around the globe for the World Basketball Championship, tournament volunteers are learning how to relate to those from different cultures and make them feel welcome in the Circle City.
Starting this week, the Indiana Sports Corp. will teach its 2,500 tournament volunteers the proper way to welcome international visitors. The training will explain differences between cultures, including a lesson in appropriate hand gestures.
“We can't teach tolerance, but we can teach awareness,” Mary Spink, manager of business development and training for the International Center of Indianapolis, told The Indianapolis Star.
The 11-day event next month will feature teams from 16 nations and is expected to draw up to 175,000 people to the city.
Recent incidents involving airport cab drivers and foreign visitors have proven the need for sensitivity training.
Chinese journalists visiting Indianapolis last month on a State Department-sponsored trip said they received a rude welcome at the airport. They said one cabdriver drove off without helping them, apparently saying they had too much luggage.
Another driver picked them up, but tried to charge double for a ride downtown and said he was doing the visitors a favor by picking them up because they were Asian and looked poor, the visitors said.
The independent cabdrivers were suspended by the airport shortly after the incident. Neither driver could be reached for comment by the Star.
“No one that dealt with this has anything but immense concern about what this means for the city,” said Caterina Blitzer, the center's executive director. “It sets a very negative tone.”
That tone is of particular concern to World Basketball Championship planners and city representatives, who are joining efforts to avoid similar embarrassments when the event begins Aug. 29.
“Organizations are getting together and sharing a common sense of urgency that we're going to be on the world stage,” Blitzer said.
The convention and visitors association hopes the new initiative will help foreigners feel more at home.
In addition to sensitivity training, translators also will staff a hot line for volunteers and hotel workers. They will be the first to respond if a visitor needs help in filing a complaint, organizers said.
The group, called the Hospitality Champions, is encouraging restaurants and hotels to take extra steps to welcome international visitors. The group sent a flier to restaurants requesting that employees learn basic statements in various languages and distribute cards that describe tipping customs.
Coordinators hope their message will reach a broad audience, because one negative experience can leave a lasting impression on a visitor's mind.
“For us, it's all about the image,” said Ginger Kreil, vice president of marketing and communications for The Indy Partnership. “We look at every one of the international events as one more time for Indianapolis to be on the minds of business people around the world.”
Sports Stories
FORUM: Please don't kill the 'greatest game'
FORUM: It's time to toss the antitrust exemption
FORUM: Local Voices - Two cents worth
FORUM: Strike would be costly, and not just in money
FORUM: Who's not on first? 3 steps to save baseball
Mets 6, Reds 5
Reds box, runs
Finances foil shot at Rolen
Larkin planning to return Tuesday
Up next for Reds
Wizard's journey ends at Hall of Fame
Giants get Lofton; Dodgers add Shuey
Notes from Sunday's games
NL roundup
AL roundup
Louisville 6, Charlotte 0
Westbrook fractures left wrist
Competition heats up in quarterback race
Top-10 defense looks to clamp down
Chiefs withdraw offer until Gonzalez drops hoops
Commute's expensive, but James at camp
NFL Notes
Volunteers learn to welcome foreign visitors to Indianapolis
