Hospitality workers offered ESL class
Arizona  Republic
Jul. 12, 2006


SCOTTSDALE - Language isn't the barrier it might be for workers in the local hospitality industry thanks to an expanded English as a Second Language program at Scottsdale Community College.

The school's Hospitality ESL Certificate Program offers English language training, customized with an industry-specific vocabulary.

The program is designed to help workers.Resorts like the Camelback Inn and Phoenician draw help from those whose native tongues are Spanish, Laotian, Hungarian, German, Korean, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic French, Farsi and various languages from Africa.

Communicating with guests in their native language is seen as another layer of customer service.

The SCC program is offered on-site and accommodates work schedules and specific needs of those taking the class.


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SCOTTSDALE - If all goes well, the Northeast Valley will soon be the subject
of many glowing travel stories.

The Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and Arizona Office of Tourism
will host a travel writer conference in November at the Four Seasons Resort
Scottsdale at Troon North.

About 50 writers, a combination of editors and selected professional
freelance writers have been invited to the third annual Travel Classics West
conference. The conclave will include editors from such publications as
National Geographic Adventure and Arizona Highways.


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SCOTTSDALE - JetBlue will be the first carrier to offer daily non-stop
service between Tucson and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport,
effective Sept. 28.

That terminal will provide connecting flights to 19 other destinations,
including the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, West
Palm Beach, Fort Myers and Tampa.

The Tucson-to-New York flight will leave Arizona at 11:30 p.m. and arrive in
New York at 7:15 a.m. the following day. On the return flight from New York,
departure will be at 8 p.m. and arrive back in Arizona at 10:30 p.m.



Compiled from the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Web address
is www. scottsdalecvb.com.