AUSTRALIA. Melbourne Airport is investing in a series of tailored workshops to enhance cultural awareness and communication skills for front-line retail and hospitality staff. It comes as China and India are identified as two of Australia’s strongest future growth markets, with staff encouraged to learn more about the characteristics and needs of these customers.
Although Melbourne Airport doesn’t directly employ retail and hospitality staff, Acting Chief of Retail Rosemary Earner said investing in the tailored workshops made sense for the staff, the passengers, the retailers and the airport.
“Melbourne Airport is a great place to shop, a great place to work, and a great place to invest – and front-line customer service is at the heart of that proposition,” she said.
“Even the best customer service experience in the biggest suburban retail centres just doesn’t translate like-for-like into the airport environment. It’s important that we work in close partnership with our retail and hospitality tenants to understand that nuance – and help their teams do a great job in getting it right.
“Whether it’s a warm welcome or a fond farewell, what resonates with customers from one culture may completely miss the mark for customers of another.
“Last year more than 11 million passengers travelled internationally through our doors, with around half of these being foreign nationals. We’re literally talking about millions of people who are each having multiple experiences of customer service on their journey through the airport.”
Melbourne Airport engaged Trevor Lee and Lilly Choi-Lee of Asian market specialist TravConsult to deliver a bespoke training programme aligned with both the airport’s strategy and its international market objectives.
Managing Director Lee said: “No two airports are the same, so when creating the tailored programme, we took into consideration the airport’s investment into creating a genuine Melbourne experience via its mix of local signature retail brands, coffee culture alongside international brands.”
Lee added: “We also considered the evolving needs and service expectations of the maturing Chinese traveller and growing Indian traveller markets, and the unique skills and knowledge required by the airport’s front line staff to not only help deliver a culturally welcoming shopping experience for these important airport guests, but also one that influences them and converts them into buyers.”
Melbourne Airport said that a recent report produced by Swiss research and consultancy agency m1nd-set highlighted the rising significance of service excellence and quality staff training in travel retail.
Choi-Lee said: “Melbourne Airport front line teams are often the first and final impressions of not just Melbourne, but Victoria and even Australia.
“The result is a programme that ensures these key Asian guests are warmly welcomed in a culturally sensitive and engaging manner with our Melbourne pride and passion. This complements the Sense of Place created in the airport.”
Melbourne Airport aims to conclude the first stage of the programme ahead of the Christmas peak season, with the fast-growing Chinese and Indian markets a big focus for 2020.
In financial year 2018/19, the top five nationalities to travel through Melbourne Airport were China/Hong Kong, New Zealand, India, UK and USA.
