A LEADING Luton businessman and the borough council are working on plans to teach taxi drivers to greet Olympic visitors in their own languages.
Mohammed Nadeem, who has built up a £5million business empire based in the Bury Park area of town, is sure Luton’s multi-cultural nature will be a massive asset in the summer.
Mr Nadeem, of Nadeem Plaza in Dunstable Road, said: “Everyone will be coming into Luton for the Olympics.
“I’ve been talking to the council about getting lessons for every single taxi driver to be able to say hello and goodbye in at least three languages.”
Mr Nadeem, who won the Entrepreneur of the Year title at the Rising Stars Bedfordshire and Luton Business Excellence Awards 2011, also wants taxis and other businesses to display flags of many nations.
“Luton is a multicultural town and we can monopolise on the Olympics because of that,” he said.
Thirty-eight year-old Mr Nadeem built up his retail empire by being able to exploit opportunities.
He started off in business selling mangoes to other family members and only faintly jokingly says he can “sell anything to anyone”.
The Muslim businessman, who once raised £250,000 for Pakistan flood relief in a single fund-raising night, sees the Olympics as a way of bringing people together and for businesses to make money, too.
Luton Borough Council confirmed the town’s taxi drivers are being approached with a view to being trained to give visitors the best experience for the visitors.
A council spokesman said the authority is leading a Meet and Greet programme to provide training in languages and materials for transport operators, with a particular focus on taxi drivers, accommodation providers and other Luton attractions. They will also all receive materials to handout to visitors.
The spokesman added: “We met with Mr Nadeem on January 26 to explore ways in which we could connect with the taxi operators and their drivers to arrange training and materials for them to be able to provide the right experience for the visitors to Luton.
“Some of the visitors may be travelling directly to the Olympic venues so it will be important to give them good directions to help them on their way, and in doing so show them that Luton is a good place to be.
“Other visitors will be looking to stay and to enjoy the local attractions so it will be important for us to give them good information about the area and allow them to make good choices, again with a view for them to have a good experience and return to Luton in the future.”
The Olympic Torch is coming to Luton this summer and to celebrate the town is hosting the Love Luton 2012 Festival from July 6-9. The weekend-long festival promises to be the most spectacular event in Luton’s history.
The festival will be packed with a huge range of activities including big-name music concerts, a spectacular carnival parade, school games, Mela activities along with a kaleidoscope of music, comedy and dance leading up to a special Olympic Torch celebration event.