Tourism has become a global industry and this has only come about because of the presence of experienced translators in many different languages. No one will visit a country unless s/he can learn about its attractions in their own language. Marketing material has to present all the required information in the language or languages understood by those who are likely to want to visit a country.
Australia has unique features for tourists to discover
A country like Australia isn’t likely to attract those fascinated in history and old buildings as they do not exist. Its main attractions, apart from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, are the attractions in the outback such as remote trips in a four-wheel drive which will take you far away from civilization. There is also the Dreamtime of Aboriginal Australians, which is represented in its unique dot artwork. Who would know about these attractions unless tourist operators’ websites are translated into the languages of potential customers?
Translations mean prospective customers can discover you more easily
Whether a person is looking for a beach holiday, visits to ancient cities, viewing unique wildlife or rafting down the wild, raging rivers, tourist operators around the world have to translate their websites so that potential customers know which countries offer what they really enjoy.
Professional translations boost trust
In 2013 a study was conducted which discovered Britons are unlikely to make a holiday booking through any websites which display too many spelling and grammar mistakes. This is because if the website is not perfect what is the holiday likely to be like? So if a tourist company in say Thailand is promoting holidays to the British it needs to ensure the translation from Thai to English is perfect otherwise there is a high likelihood of losing bookings to competitors.
Travelling does not come cheap
Many people these days opt for holidays far away from home. There is quite a lot of organization involved in arranging this, which includes booking flights, choosing suitable accommodation and planning excursions on arrival. Many sought after destinations require advanced bookings. This means the customer needs to be sure the right choice of holiday is made and this involves reading all the information in their own language first. If there is anything that has not been clearly translated the customer is likely to move onto another better-translated website.
Tourists are put off by language barriers
Language barriers often make people feel uncomfortable and can even spoil a holiday. A tourist operator can add to the comfort of their clients by providing important information in their own language and even have an interpreter available if required.
Package holiday sellers are put off by language barriers
It’s not just the customers who pay for holidays who need the reassurance that translations are made available, but a tourist operator, say in France, may use a middle person in England to help market holiday packages. Middlemen and women in England do not necessarily speak French so the vendor in France should ensure an accurate translation into English is provided of the holiday packages that can be passed onto customers.
Tourism operators need both old and new customers
Any tourist operator has to feel that it has a definite customer base and the only way to make this happen is by making sure the customer has a memorable experience and wants to come back. Providing well-translated tourist information and an interpreter back up service goes a long way to encourage return visitors.
Chinese translators use machine translators that get bad translations
Many translation errors in China occur because people do not take translations seriously and believe machine translations do a good job. This has happened with sign translations in China. To address the frequency of errors, the Chinese government has published a 10 part guide about translating from Chinese to English. It concentrates on ensuring signage is correctly translated, so it is easy to understand and is not comical. To make it easy for those who need to translate signs, the Chinese government has released standard translations of commonly seen road signs so that they can be correctly translated. These include such signs as ‘sunbathing allowed,’ ‘construction in progress’ and ‘speed limits.
Expert translators need to do tourist translations
For companies who offer tourist activities, it is important to get good translations so that tourists are attracted to what is offered, enjoy it and want to return another time. If a tourist business gets it right the first time the tourist will be thrilled with what it has to offer. If the translation is poor tourists will not be queuing up to take up any offers.