The importance of tourism translation

Thanks to globalisation and the development of transport, the travel and tourism industry has greatly expanded over the years. With more people than ever travelling the world, tourism has boomed and the sector now plays an important role in economies worldwide. Despite these advances, there is still one major obstacle facing the tourism industry—the language barrier.

Language has the power to sway a tourist’s decisions when planning out their trip, especially if they do not speak the language of the country they are visiting. In order for a successful trip, people want to know exactly what they are signing up for. This means they are more likely to choose the company that offers information they can understand in their own native language.

As such, many companies in the tourism sector choose to offer information in several different languages. This allows you to attract more customers, offering tourists clear information that gives them the confidence to book your services.

Translating tourism content

Travel and tourism translation involves any kind of document that can help a tourist make informed decisions while planning out their trip. This could be anything from travel guides, websites and maps, to menus, brochures and audio guides. These documents can also come in a range of different formats, including physical and digital, as well as audio and visual.

A lot of tourism content is focused on marketing your services by engaging the target audience. This means that content often includes testimonies from previous clients and cultural references. In order for this content to have the same impact across different languages, you may need localisation services. This adapts the content so that it conveys the same emotions and tone of voice as the original, producing a text that feels familiar to your audience.

So, why should you consider translating your tourism documents? Here are two of the top benefits that translation can offer your business.

 1. Make your content more accessible to potential clients

Tourists often travel to countries where they do not speak the local language, with many only being able to speak their mother tongue. This means it is important that content is available in multiple languages, making the information accessible to tourists from all over the world.

Having your website translated can also make you more accessible in other ways. By making it available in multiple languages, it will have more chance of appearing in search engine results regardless of the language used. This will allow customers to discover your business much more easily while allowing them to access your pages in their own languages.

2. Build a sense of trust with quality translations

One of the advantages of tourism is that previous customers will often help you find new customers through word of mouth. Leaving a good impression is essential and providing quality translations is a great way of letting people know that they are in safe and capable hands.

Any texts you translate must be clear, precise and consistent. Otherwise, they could leave your customers with the impression of low-quality services or products, tarnishing your company’s image. On the other hand, offering high-quality translations will create a professional image, giving tourists the confidence to choose you over your competitors.

Choosing a professional tourism translator

Taking all of the above into account, it is best to use a professional translator who specialises in tourism translation. Make sure the translator you choose is a native speaker of your target language and has high proficiency in the source language. They should also have the experience  and qualifications to show that they can produce quality work.

With so many different factors to watch out for, it can be tricky finding the right translator for the job. However, choosing a professional translation agency like Intertranslations can make this a whole lot easier. We have a wide network of translators working in a number of different language pairs, and who specialise in tourism translation. With a strict selection process, we choose only the best translators to ensure that we deliver quality translations of all your tourism content.

By using professional translation services, you can also rest assured that your texts will be handled in the best way. Drawing on their experience, the translator will know when to localise your texts so that they engage your audience and have the right impact. This could involve anything from changing currencies to using a different idiom.

Where marketing is concerned, translators can even go one step further. Known as transcreation, this is more about translating the actual feelings of the text so that they evoke the right reactions. This is slightly more creative, stepping further away from the source text in order to bring the translation closer to the target culture.

Ready to grow your tourism business? Choose a professional translator to make sure that you receive quality translations which uphold your company’s reputation and inspire trust in your services.