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A five-star hotel group here has organised a two-day training camp for cabbies, who will ferry tourists set to arrive India for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which kicks off on October 3. The Hilton group has been training cabbies at various places in the city to help them learn how to greet tourists from abroad and exchange pleasantries. At least a 100 taxi drivers who ply their vehicles from the city's airport were given training on Tuesday. Organizers said the needs of the customers were kept in mind while devising the training module. "When people walk away from here, at least it will get them something to think if nothing else. If they can use words such as 'please' and 'thank you', if they can look at their taxies being a little cleaner, if they can understand the mentality of the traveller that is coming in and have certain gestures to make them feel comfortable," said Neeraj Chadha, the regional General Manager of Hilton Hotel. "Simple things like, 'the place is so far it will take you about 30 minutes, is the air conditioning ok,' just little gestures like that. And if we see the public transport system actually deliver that kind of gestures to the customer, I think we have exceeded the limits," he added. It has been reported that during the training camps, the drivers were shown short films and public interest advertisements highlighting the inconvenience often faced by tourists when trying to locate a cab in the national capital. Meanwhile, the participants appreciated the efforts undertaken by Hilton Hotel. "We were shown how to welcome the guests, to be honest, not to misbehave in front of them, drop them at the correct place and take appropriate taxi charge from them," said Vijay Kumar, a taxi owner. The government is expecting more than 15,000 tourists from abroad during the fortnight-long 2010 Games. Some drivers said that the two-day training would have a positive impact on their career. "It is not only about Commonwealth Games. It is about our national identity to be respectful towards our guests. It is not only about the Games," said Ashok Kumar, a driver at the airport. Besides the huge inflow of tourists, about 10,000 athletes from 71 teams representing 54 Commonwealth member states are expected to participate in the event. The 12-day sporting extravaganza from October 3 to 14 will be India's biggest sporting event

New Delhi cabbies get etiquette training for CWG