During National Travel & Tourism week, the Convention & Visitors Bureau announced its Discover SGF program continues growing with the addition of five new videos, making a total of nine videos in the program. One of the videos features CVB vice president, Laura Whisler explaining the organization’s new brand and how frontline guests can utilize the brand to encourage guests to stay longer in Springfield and share their positive experiences with others. In addition, the CVB partnered with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board and Ozark Greenways to create a video about Springfield’s outdoor assets. The final three videos were created as a partnership with the Springfield Hotel Lodging Association and other Missouri destinations to offer customer service and hospitality skills training.
Whisler says these additional videos will round out the content available in the Discover SGF program and allow the CVB to market the program to new and different audiences within Springfield.
Discover SGF is a free video-based educational program designed to teach residents and frontline employees at tourism-related businesses about things to see and do in the city and how to interact with visitors so they’re likely to return in the future and give the city good reviews as a travel destination. There is no cost for participants to enroll in the program.
The Discover SGF program provides:
- Information about where to find accurate and destination-specific information for visitors to Springfield.
- Highlights of the opportunities and activities available in and around Springfield.
- Hospitality skills, including ideas and examples on how to best welcome guests to the Springfield area.
- An easily accessed online portal to discover what the Springfield area offers.
- Niche videos about Springfield that can be viewed to educate and inspire staff to better assist customers.
- A test of knowledge on the videos’ content and a hospitality professional certification upon completion of the course.
- A way to experience, online and in person, what Springfield offers with complimentary tickets and discounts available through Discover SGF.
More than 30 tourism-related businesses and 350 individuals are enrolled in the free program. Participants have access to free admission to attractions and can receive their Certified Hospitality Professional Certification upon completion of the video courses.
Missy Handyside, general manager at the Ramada Plaza Hotel & Oasis Convention Center said the program is a great addition to staff training.
“Discover SGF has been an awesome training tool for our associates to learn about what Springfield has to offer our hotel guests,” Handyside said. “The Springfield CVB did a great job of showcasing our city and attractions which results in our staff being excited to promote things to do while visiting Springfield. The free training is invaluable to our hotel and we feel fortunate to have a CVB that is passionate about educating our frontline associates about what a wonderful, interesting, fun and entertaining city we live in.”
Click here to view a highlight reel showcasing several of the Discover SGF videos.
For more information on how your business can be involved in the program, contact Hubert Heck at hheck@springfieldmo.org or call 417-881-5300, ext. 100.
The CVB is a nonprofit marketing agency dedicated to promoting Springfield as a travel destination in order to boost the local economy.
National Travel & Tourism Weeks is May 1-7 and destinations across the country are working to showcase the value of the industry.
