Bob Doak

For the past two days, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chattanooga State taught more than 1,000 of the city's front-line staffers at area hospitality and tourism sites to be better Scenic City ambassadors.

Bob Doak, president and chief executive of the CVB, said the hospitality training program is a vital part of ensuring visitors to the city enjoy their stay.

"It's important to present a unified front with the people visiting here and to train (local workers) to be able to tell them what there is to do in Chattanooga and also to say it with some enthusiasm and a smile," he said.

This year, the CVB and Chattanooga State Technical Community College partnered to make the seminar available to staff of area attractions, hotels, restaurants, and retail stores. Bus drivers, taxi and limousine drivers, police officers, parking lot attendants and others that regularly interact with visitors to the city also took part.

Ginger Duggan, in charge of business development for continuing education and work-force development at CSTCC, said the training is held just before the peak summer tourist season to make sure visitors to Chattanooga have an enjoyable experience and tell their friends who may visit the area.

"We want to make sure when people come to Chattanooga it is a pleasurable, memorable experience," she said. "We want people to be well informed and go above and beyond what is required."

This year's training speaker was Molly Catron, described as a "storytelling guru" and whose CD "Do Lord, Do Lord, Do You Remember Me" was nominated for the performance CD of the year by Storytelling World Magazine.

Ms. Catron told those in attendance about the importance of "empathetic listening," which she described as involving your eyes and heart.

"If you give them emotional air time, it will defuse almost any situation," she said. "Show them that you care, even if you can't do anything about it. It will make them feel better."

This year more than 1,100 people registered for the training, a 30 percent increase from last year.

"We used to charge for it, but that was a barrier for many," Mr. Doak said. "We knew the more we could send the better off we would be."

Chattanooga Police Detective Robin Davenport attended this year's training. He said the importance of hospitality is often overlooked by those in a host city.

"I think this is great for Chattanooga because it bridges the gap between the people who live here and the people visiting here," he said.