Utah Bilingual Tourism Ambassador Training Program
A free training program that prepares bilingual volunteers to welcome international visitors to Utah — strengthening our tourism economy and giving back to the community.
International Visitors Deserve a Better First Impression
As international visitation to Utah grows, so does a practical problem: language barriers at first contact. Travelers arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport, visiting Temple Square, or navigating Utah's national parks often find no multilingual support.
Their first impression of Utah is confusion — not welcome. Research shows that first-contact experience has an outsized effect on visitor satisfaction, length of stay, and likelihood of return. A visitor who feels welcomed and understood spends more, stays longer, and recommends the destination to others.
How It Works
A practical training program built for Utah's visitor economy, focused on bilingual service, cultural awareness, destination knowledge, and international guest support. Participation is completely free.
Apply
Bilingual Utah residents sign up. No prior tourism experience needed — just conversational fluency in a second language and a willingness to serve.
Train
A half-day structured course (4 hours) covering:
- Visitor interaction and hospitality fundamentals
- Cultural awareness and communication techniques
- Utah destination knowledge — parks, attractions, logistics
- Practical scenarios and role-play exercises
- Open-book assessment
Get Ready
Participants complete practical exercises, review real visitor scenarios, and prepare to support guests with confidence in high-traffic destinations.
Serve
Ambassadors deploy to key visitor locations: Salt Lake City International Airport, Temple Square, and the Utah State Capitol Complex.
Free Training. Real Experience. Beautiful Places.
Participation is completely free of charge. Volunteers receive professional tourism training and, as part of the program, visit Utah's premier destinations — national parks, Bonneville Salt Flats, ski resorts, and cultural landmarks.
The exchange is simple: Matei Travel provides the training and the travel experiences. Ambassadors provide multilingual service hours at key visitor locations. Many will go on to careers in hospitality, travel, and tourism management.
Utah National Parks
Journeyto another planet
Day Tours in Utah
Maximum adventuresin minimum time
Salt Lake City Tours
Explorethe multicultural capital
A Competitive Advantage No Other State Can Match
Utah is home to thousands of young adults who speak foreign languages fluently and have spent 18 to 24 months living immersed in other cultures. Many are enrolled at Utah universities, looking for meaningful ways to use the skills they developed abroad.
Language Fluency
Conversational and working fluency in languages from Mandarin to Portuguese to Russian to Tagalog.
Cultural Competency
Deep understanding of foreign cultures from living abroad — not just classroom knowledge.
Service Experience
Years of experience guiding and serving people in unfamiliar settings, often in challenging conditions.
Community Driven
A strong desire to give back and contribute to their home state through meaningful volunteer work.
The program also welcomes bilingual immigrants, international students, heritage speakers, and anyone with conversational fluency in a second language. This unique volunteer pipeline is open to all qualified bilingual Utah residents.
Three Forces Converging in Utah
A Built-In Bilingual Workforce
Utah is home to tens of thousands of returned LDS missionaries who spent 18–24 months living and serving abroad. They return with conversational fluency in languages spanning every continent — a volunteer pipeline no other state can replicate.
Salt Lake Temple Renovation
The historic Salt Lake Temple is nearing completion of a multi-year renovation. Its reopening will draw millions of international visitors to Utah — many of whom will need bilingual guidance navigating the city, national parks, and surrounding attractions.
2034 Winter Olympics
Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, bringing a global spotlight and a surge of international travelers. Trained bilingual ambassadors will be essential to delivering a world-class visitor experience.
Who Benefits
International Visitors
- Multilingual welcome at first point of contact
- Reduced confusion and improved safety
- Higher satisfaction, longer stays
Utah's Economy
- Stronger competitiveness for international travelers
- Higher visitor retention and return rates
- A trained talent pipeline for hospitality careers
Volunteers
- Free professional tourism training
- Practical experience for future hospitality roles
- Guided visits to Utah's best destinations
The State
- Scalable model — no public funding needed
- Demonstrates commitment to welcoming visitors
- Builds international goodwill and word-of-mouth
Training sessions are held at Temple Square, Salt Lake City. Parking available at the Conference Center facility.
Recruitment outreach to universities, community organizations, and bilingual networks across Utah.
First training session — 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Temple Square (West Entrance).
Second training session — 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Third training session — 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Ambassadors deployed at SLC Airport, Temple Square, and the Utah State Capitol Complex.
Program expansion — additional languages, locations, and seasonal training cycles.
About the Founder
Dmytro Mateiko
Founder and Lead Tourism Specialist, Matei Travel LLC- Master's degree in Tourism from the National Aviation University
- 14+ years of professional experience in tour operations, destination management, and crisis response across Europe, Asia, and the United States
- Author of multiple academic publications in tourism and hospitality
- Founder of Matei Travel LLC — a growing Utah tour company with 100+ active bookings on Viator
- Multilingual: fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, and English
His academic training in tourism management combined with hands-on experience building a tour business from scratch in a new country positions him to design and deliver the training curriculum, manage volunteer operations, and scale the program statewide.