HAVING once been known for raiding and pillaging York's Vikings have now been recognised for their customer service skills by becoming a WorldHost Recognised Business.

WorldHost customer service training, first developed in Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics, has awarded accreditation to York's JORVIK Group.

To receive the accreditation businesses must train at least 50 per cent of their front of house staff through the programme.

For the JORVIK Group this meant involving staff from across its five city centre attractions, including the JORVIK Viking Centre, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2014, DIG – An Archaeological Adventure, medieval townhouse Barley Hall and its two new walls attractions, the Richard III and Henry VII Experiences.

Sarah Maltby, director of attractions at York Archaeological Trust, the owners of the JORVIK Group, said: "Although Vikings are not generally known for their social graces, the staff at JORVIK have had a lot of experience welcoming visitors from across the globe over the past 31 years.

"This has been a good grounding when taking part in the WorldHost training programme. Our staff understand that good customer service within our attractions is paramount to our visitors experience and enjoyment and the skills they have learned will be invaluable in the future."

The JORVIK Group will be one of the first businesses in York to gain WorldHost Recognised Business status and is hoping its example encourages other tourism organisations to join the programme.

Ms Maltby said: "The tourism industry has changed dramatically over the past 30 years and having world-class attractions and events is not enough anymore. We as a sector need to offer the best customer service to help spread good word of mouth about York as a visitor destination, as it is this positive feeling that will help to differentiate us over our competitors."