Fort Worth, Texas – Sister Cities Trains Visitors Center Staff on International Protocol
As part of its strategic plan, Fort Worth Sister Cities International is establishing a wide-range of protocol training courses for businesses and individuals in the community.
The Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Visitors Center’s staff recently took part in training focused on how to welcome international visitors to Fort Worth creating an exceptional experience for them. The class was held earlier this week at the Norris Conference Center in downtown Fort Worth.
“To provide the best experience that we can and to help boost international visitation, we want to be well-prepared,” said Bob Jameson, President/CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. “International visitors represent 5% of total visitors to the city and because they spend more than domestic tourists, they represent 16% of total spending,” said Jameson. In Texas alone tourism generates $1.9 billion annually.
Led by Mae Ferguson, President/CEO and Protocol Officer of Fort Worth Sister Cities International, the training session provided the CVB staff tools on how they can be better prepared to welcome all guests to Fort Worth creating that unique experience.
“International travelers can have a more meaningful and memorable stay in Fort Worth if we are all better prepared to host them in a respectful and welcoming way. With training to understand different cultures, we can be better prepared,” said Ferguson.
Similar classes are scheduled for the DFW International Airport and Bell Helicopter. For information on future training classes, contact Katie Wharry at katie@fwsistercities.org.
2016-11-02 10:43
New Services Provided by Fort Worth Sister Cities
Fort Worth, Texas – Sister Cities Trains Visitors Center Staff on International Protocol
As part of its strategic plan, Fort Worth Sister Cities International is establishing a wide-range of protocol training courses for businesses and individuals in the community.
The Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Visitors Center’s staff recently took part in training focused on how to welcome international visitors to Fort Worth creating an exceptional experience for them. The class was held earlier this week at the Norris Conference Center in downtown Fort Worth.
“To provide the best experience that we can and to help boost international visitation, we want to be well-prepared,” said Bob Jameson, President/CEO of the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau. “International visitors represent 5% of total visitors to the city and because they spend more than domestic tourists, they represent 16% of total spending,” said Jameson. In Texas alone tourism generates $1.9 billion annually.
Led by Mae Ferguson, President/CEO and Protocol Officer of Fort Worth Sister Cities International, the training session provided the CVB staff tools on how they can be better prepared to welcome all guests to Fort Worth creating that unique experience.
“International travelers can have a more meaningful and memorable stay in Fort Worth if we are all better prepared to host them in a respectful and welcoming way. With training to understand different cultures, we can be better prepared,” said Ferguson.
Similar classes are scheduled for the DFW International Airport and Bell Helicopter. For information on future training classes, contact Katie Wharry at katie@fwsistercities.org.
Fort Worth Sister Cities International is conducting its first community class on why protocol is necessary in today’s world for both business and leisure travel. The class will take place Sept. 29, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at BBVA Compass 3rd floor conference room located at One Museum Way: 3100 W. 7th Street Suite 310, Fort Worth, TX. A nominal fee of $35 includes lecture, class materials, certificate of Citizen Diplomacy, and light snack. For tickets visit the Sister Cities website at fwsistercities.org/event/protocol-101.
Led by Susan Turner, Senior Protocol Officer at Lockheed Martin, Protocol 101 will give attendees traveling for business or pleasure the tools they need to be good citizen diplomats representing Fort Worth, Texas and the U.S.A. In a humorous, rapid fire presentation, Turner will discuss ways to capitalize on your experience.
“Today, business decisions come down to more than dollars and cents, tax incentives, and the bottom line. How people feel about the community, its leadership, its civic spirit, and its culture matter just as much, if not more,” says Mae Ferguson, President/CEO and Protocol Officer of Fort Worth Sister Cities International. Ferguson also says, “Leisure travelers can receive more meaningful experiences with training to either gain new perspectives or by learning to invest in the people of the places they visit.”
Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem Sal Espino will lead a delegation of twenty Fort Worth Ambassadors to Guiyang, China June 11-19 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the partnership as sister cities.
The exchange will consist of three nights in Guiyang, visiting local sites of interest as well as an official commemoration of the establishment of the partnership at city hall and a celebration banquet following. The exchange will also include a visit to Beijing to see the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, and a tour of the Forbidden City as well as a visit to Shanghai. 
The group will also include Youth Ambassadors who will be home hosted while in Guiyang. Fort Worth and Guiyang have developed a strong reciprocal youth program with students visiting each other’s cities annually. Fort Worth will be hosting fifteen Chinese students at its International Leadership Academy in July.
It is only appropriate that Mayor Betsy Price visit Fort Worth’s closest sister city Toluca, Mexico. Toluca was signed as an official partner in 1998. Mayor Price’s visit comes at the end of a DFW Airport mission trip to Mexico City where she and Dallas Mayor Rawlings are promoting the opportunities of the North Texas Region.
While in Toluca, Price will visit with Mayor Zamora, city councilors, and business leaders to discuss potential partnership opportunities and exchanges. She will also receive information on the upcoming youth and educator exchanges that will occur over the summer and discuss an upcoming Women’s Symposia co-sponsored by the Women’s Policy Forum of Fort Worth to be held in the spring of 2017.
Toluca, officially called Toluca de Lerdo is the state capital of Mexico State, as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. Toluca is located in the economic center of Mexico. Toluca has become an important economic city because of its industries and infrastructure that produce beverages, food, textiles, cars, and electronic products.
Twenty-six Fort Worth Sister Cities International delegates will depart Friday on an eight day educational mission to Cuba to learn more about the country and to promote Fort Worth. The delegation will consist of representatives from the business, education, arts and tourism sectors.
Special meetings are set with the U.S. Embassy staff in Havana to discuss the current political climate of the country. While in Havana the delegation will also meet with Professor Carlos Alzugaray Treto on U.S./Cuba Relations. Professor Alzugaray is the Former Cuban Ambassador to the European Union and former Director of the Institute of Foreign Relations in Havana.
Sister Cities is working with Cuba Cultural Travel, an operator under a “People to People” license required by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury who sets regulations for any American citizen wishing to travel to Cuba.
The Women’s Policy Forum of Tarrant County in partnership with Fort Worth Sister Cities International are sending a delegation of top women in leadership for an impactful visit to Fort Worth’s sister city of Toluca, Mexico October 28-November 1.
The delegation consists of: Patricia Alridge, John Peter Smith Hospital; Patricia Cheong, United Way of Tarrant County; Margaret DeMoss, retired public health professional; Judith Harman, community volunteer; Hilde Horchler, community volunteer; Julie Johncox Siglinger, JP Solutions; Cynthia Johnson, Courage and Renewal North Texas; Cathy Kyle, community volunteer; Elizabeth Lawrence, Museum of the Americas; Tracy Marshall, Fort Worth ISD; Chelsea Marshall, World Affairs Council of DFW; Danielle McCown, Fort Worth Sister Cities International; MaryAnn Means Dufrene, Susan G. Komen of Greater Fort Worth; Cynthia Miller, Fort Worth Chamber; Deborah Peoples, community volunteer; Ann Rice, community volunteer; Ronda Stucker, community volunteer.
Toluca, Mexico is Fort Worth’s closest Sister City. Signed in 1998, this partnership has resulted in many programs such as: middle, high, and university school partnerships; municipal and economic forums, as well as trade missions; monarch butterfly tourism; culture, language, and mentoring programs; university interns; and police training programs.