Often, companies will wish to meet their foreign visitors at the airport. Before meeting the visitors, they should check ahead of time to make sure the flight is on schedule, go to the airport early and make every possible effort to help the visitors get through immigration and customs.
Counterparts from the company, i.e., personnel of the same rank, should meet the visitors at the airport. The host group should include an interpreter, if necessary. Prepare a tasteful, professional sign in order to catch the eye of the visitors. A computer laser printout of their names in extra-large type works well. Print the sign in the visitors’ mother tongue. If the visitors’ company logo can be printed, that would be even better.
A private room, or an area off to the side, should be set apart for the greeting ceremony at the airport. Make a culturally related presentation so that the visitors feel they are entering not only a new business venture, but also a new culture. A member of the host team should make individual introductions in a well-ordered manner. A welcoming pack of information should be distributed to each member of the visiting team.
The greeting ceremony should be brief to make the visitors aware that they will be taken to their hotel as soon as possible. If the visitors arrive in the morning, it is certainly acceptable to extend a dinner invitation. However, remember that the visitors will be jet-lagged when they arrive. Don’t plan anything big for their first day, just let them get some rest and adapt themselves to a new time zone that may be four, six, or more hours different from their own. It is better for the visitors to decide the first day’s schedule. Don’t conduct actual business until the visitors are well rested.
After driving the visitors to their hotel at the host’s expense, the host team should help the visitors check in no matter who made the booking. Check back later to make sure that the visitors are satisfied with the service at the hotel.