BUSINESSES in tourism, hospitality and retail attended the east Dorset launch of a new 2012 Olympics project at the Haven Hotel in Sandbanks today.

There the New Forest Tourism Partnership announced a drive to ensure that Dorset's hospitality, tourism and retail sectors are ready for global visitors before and beyond the London 2012 Olympic and Olympic sailing events at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - as well as the Paralympic Games.

On offer were free short courses and events for all those who wanted to champion the 2012 Games and grasp its opportunities.

The 2012 Customer Care Campaign, funded by the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and the European Social Fund (ESF), with media support pledged by the Daily Echo and Dorset Echo, is called Welcoming our World' - WOW for short - and aims to raise awareness of the importance of how, as a region, we meet and greet global visitors.

Through free short courses in customer service delivery, front of house skills and team management, businesses are being invited to contribute to the WOW factor!' through positive visitor experiences.

South West director for the 2012 Games Guy Lavender said: "This campaign meets our objective to achieve a lasting legacy from the 2012 Games.

Tourism and the image of our region is a major part of our strategy and using 2012 to improve people's skills is key. We want visitors to the South West to enjoy their experience before, during and after the games and it is crucial that our customer care is world-class."

On Monday the Heights Hotel at Portland hosted the WOW event for the west of the county where managing director of the Dorset Echo at Weymouth Paul Kinvig was guest speaker.