Employees of the Mercadão will have language classes to better serve foreigners costumers

[photo: julia chequer]

The mayor of Sao Paulo, Gilberto Kassab, signed today a cooperation agreement with the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo - Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP), which will provide free courses of English, Spanish and French for the vendors of the Mercadão.

The initiative aims to improve the quality provided to foreign tourists and prepare employees for the period of the 2014 World Cup. The signing was held at the Espaço Gourmet do Mercadão.

According to the Observatório do Turismo, the SPTuris research center, the Mercadão is the fourth most visited tourist attraction in the city. The cooperation agreement with the PUC provides teachers for the courses in Mercado Municipal (Mercadão). The classes began on November 29.

To improve communication between employees and tourists, will be displayed trilingual billboards with images and description of the main and also exotic products that are sold in the market.

Nearly four thousand professionals from Metropolitan Civil Guard (GCMs), tour guides and taxi drivers have participated in the Training Program offered by the City Council.