Summertime’s approaching again, bringing a strong boost to those commercial activities that promote leisure, and reinvigorating the economic systems in different regions. It is not by chance that the English language has the common expression “to feather one’s nest”, alluding to those specific times when a person or company does profitable business under particular circumstances. Unsurprisingly, each sector has its own way of getting those benefits and, curiously, each region finds its own selling point leading to the creation of wealth. In this sense, it is worth highlighting that there are cities in every country which offer unique cultural features that are not found anywhere else, so that whoever wishes to visit them has to go to the destination in question. Moreover, there are natural phenomena that only take place in specific points of the planet, making them unique and alluring experiences that are very localized, such as the northern lights, the so-called “giant waves” for surfing or the sighting of animals in the wild. The boom of certain commercial activities comes at key moments that all interested parties must be aware of in order to squeeze the maximum potential out of them.
Nevertheless, despite this kaleidoscope of possible activities, there is a shared link between all of them: tourism. The tourism sector is one of the most prolific as far as the generation of jobs, wealth and movement of people are concerned. The sector’s activity is based on the increasingly popular allure of visiting places offering leisure and cultural options, among other more specific activities. Although such tourism can be classified according to different criteria, one of the main distinguishing factors in geographical terms is the difference between domestic tourism and foreign tourism, i.e., between travelers who decide to take a vacation in their own country and those who opt to travel abroad. Indeed, the essence of tourism is not lost in any case but we can’t deny that foreign tourism poses a series of additional challenges that lead to the emergence of needs requiring a service that meets them successfully. This is because when we travel abroad, we must find the way to exchange our currency, buy a health insurance, book our accommodation, and travel between attractions in our destination, etc. All these actions could entail an encounter between two or more languages, and therefore, a chance of a communication breakdown due to this language gap.
For this reason, translation is an activity that entails huge value for the tourism industry, which needs to facilitate communication between the parties offering their services and the parties wishing to hire them. In fact, the choice of localizing tourism-related content is among the most profitable for the industry, since making the service offer available to potential customers in their own language generates a greater sense of trust, thereby increasing the chances of commercial success. Thus, it is a small wonder that we are witnessing a steady growth in the number of services that are localized in an ever-increasing number of languages, since touristic movements go in all directions. We must be prepared to meet the demand springing from all markets, to be aware of travelers’ expectations, and to create an enjoyable experience whereby wanderlust or the will to recommend it to friends and relatives is fostered. Our articles ‘The role of translation in the tourism sector’ and ‘Translation services for hotels’ delve into these and other aspects.
Nevertheless, there is a branch of tourism that is gaining in popularity in recent times. The truth is that with increasing food awareness and the promotion of regional crops on one hand and the new trends that have put signature cuisine and the passion for learning to cook like professional chefs on the other, culinary tourism has consolidated worldwide.
Gastro-tourism is a tourism style that puts in motion all those who are searching for specific experiences with food, the products prepared with such food or their cooking for personal or commercial purposes as their main focus. Specifically, the most appealing type of gastro-tourism is that in which travelers look for the typical products and foods of a region, for certified quality foods or products, or for food and beverage tastings and samplings, or that which offers culinary classes.
All these activities entail the creation of an infinite stream of virtual means and materials to advertise before potential clients, generate their interest and, obviously, accompany them throughout their experience. For this reason, the gastro-tourism sector requires specialized language services to localize its goods and services in order to reach its consumers: product labels, menus, training courses, description of products that are not familiar to the tourism culture, tourist guides, Internet portals, video presentations, interviews, etc. All these materials require an accurate translation that is well suited to the target audience; oftentimes, a good translation will require creativity as well as the ability to anticipate the target audience’s interpretation.
Gastro-tourism celebrates culinary wealth across cultures and is a standard-bearer of diversity. Who can better assist in the creation of connections that generate the best possible impact on precious consumers than an agency specializing in language services?
Image reference: https://www.bizzbuzz.news/trendz/gastronomic-tourism-menu-becoming-the-new-travel-map-1186139
