Translation for the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry
There’s no more exciting industry on the planet than the travel and tourism industry!
It’s estimated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) that 1.2 billion people travel abroad annually spending 1.5 trillion dollars in global travel and tourism. The number of travelers is expected to surge to 1.8 billion by 2025.
For companies operating in the travel and tourism industry such as Hotels, Tour Operators, Travel Agencies and Airlines, translation should be an integral part of their business solutions. Companies in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries include Hotels, Online Travel Agencies (OTA), Booking Travel Sites, Travel Review Sites, Airlines, Cruise Companies, Inbound and Outbound Tour Operators, Car Rental Agencies as well as State Tourism Boards.
Travel content can be divided into the following broad categories:
- Marketing Content
- Promotional print material
- Catalogs, online and offline
- Advertisements
- Interactive websites
- Online material and social media
It’s important the company operating at the heart of the travel industry shares relevant details of the demographics of their target audience to the translation and localization agency, so the content can be translated in a suitable tone and style that is well adapted for its intended audience.
Consider points such as;
- What is the demographic of your target audience? What type of travelers is your company targeting e.g. intrepid adventure travelers, business travelers, frugal backpackers or luxury travelers?
- What tone and style of language is most suitable for your type of content considering the context and the type medium the content is presented in? E.g. do you need a descriptive type of content which paints a serene picture of patrons stays in a 5-star luxury resort – or do you need a terse, concise terminology which may even be restricted by character limitations in online forms, menus, or online ticketing systems?
Some companies have ‘style guides’ which outlines how the brand ‘speaks’ which may already include established preferred terminology. A good localization or translation agency can help create one based on input from the client and understanding of the company’s image, brand and corporate culture.
Oftentimes translation of travel related content and marketing content is referred to as ‘transcreation’. ‘Transcreation’ goes hand in hand with translation for marketing and copywriting. There are a few definitions of transcreation, but it essentially means the translator has permission to paraphrase translated content for the purpose of finding suitable expressions in the target language. The linguists translate in a fashion that hits the mark and expresses the same intended meaning while avoiding a too literal translation. The process may include using local idioms and expressions where it improves the translation and avoiding a word by word literal translation.
This like anything else is a skill and a specialized translator needs to be assigned for this type of travel and tourism translation.
Frequently Translated Hospitality Material Include:
- Information booklets
- Pamphlets
- Spa menus
- Brochures
- Restaurant menues
- Entertainment and facilities fliers
- Website and mobile app localization Material includes:
- Reservation software
- Online booking systems
- Back-End software
- Flight information
- Reservation websites
Translation for Booking Platforms
Online travel agencies and operators in the travel and hospitality run booking platforms driven by API / XML technology. This type of technology driven booking platforms is now common in the travel industry. An API booking platform offers travel agents connectivity to travel gateways and enables the system to collate data from different travel and tourism services such as hotels, car rentals, hotels, cruises, excursions booking sites and ticketing systems. The online travel agency or tour operator can then access this data and pull out information to run reports such as booking data or propagate data with pricing and information.
Terminology management and consistency of translation should not be left to chance as different types of database exports from the travel company can often be very large with categorized travel data – so a consistent translation is very important. When you select a translation agency for translation of travel booking platforms it’s therefore important the agency in turn use processes and tools that enable their translators to consistently translate travel data intended to be propagated on these types of platforms.
Tourism and Travel Translations Include:
- Travel listings
- Sightseeing Audio Guides
- Reviews of hotels, restaurants, cruises, and sights experiences
- Travel blog and reviews
Corporate Communications Include:
- Media releases
- Internal Memos
- Company policy documentation
- Shareholder and annual reports
Inbound & Outbound Tour Operators
Many tour operators, both outbound and inbound need a top-notch localized marketing catalog and travel translations that spark interest and attract new customers.
- ‘Outbound’ is referring to tour operators traveling to foreign destinations and e.g. market package tours to other countries.
- ‘Inbound’ is referring to a company which serves travelers coming from other destinations and help both independent travelers to make travel arrangements as well as organizing group package tours catering to a wide range of interest.
Translation for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industries
The travel industry is a field that warrants the best high-quality translation services possible, which is why VEQTA Translations is delighted to regularly translate content for some of the largest names in the travel and hospitality industry such as Agoda, AirAsia, Starwood Hotels, Marriott International and Hilton, to mention some. We provide translations for all content related to travel, hospitality, tourism, online ticket booking systems and tour operators. We see a revision of content as a natural part of the process and we regularly collaborate with marketing departments’ in-house reviewers, reviewers from embassies, linguistic quality assurance (LQA) teams, editors, in country reviewers.
We are able to liaise with clients I.T teams for tracking version control of translations and data using GitHub and other platforms.
We translate content for luxury resorts predominantly in Asia, boutique hotels and Industry Tourism Boards predominantly in Asia.
With representation in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, which are some of the top travel destinations in the world, VEQTA Translations is in a perfect location and low-cost environment to offer some very attractive prices for both Asian and European languages. We work with professional career translators, both locals and expats, who are based in Asia and are native speakers. We offer full translation localization, voiceover, and desktop publishing services to provide a non-stop solution with quality second to none. VEQTA Translations currently have around 400 translators in Malaysia and 400 translators in Thailand as well as over 3500 translators available in total to support your translation project in all commercial languages.
For some reading material, check out a blog by VEQTA Translations’ Project Manager in Thailand that she’s updating when she’s not busy coordinating our Thai translation, Thai translators and projects requiring us to translate English to Thai.
Translation for the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry
There’s no more exciting industry on the planet than the travel and tourism industry!
It’s estimated by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) that 1.2 billion people travel abroad annually spending 1.5 trillion dollars in global travel and tourism. The number of travelers is expected to surge to 1.8 billion by 2025.
For companies operating in the travel and tourism industry such as Hotels, Tour Operators, Travel Agencies and Airlines, translation should be an integral part of their business solutions. Companies in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries include Hotels, Online Travel Agencies (OTA), Booking Travel Sites, Travel Review Sites, Airlines, Cruise Companies, Inbound and Outbound Tour Operators, Car Rental Agencies as well as State Tourism Boards.
Travel content can be divided into the following broad categories:
- Marketing Content
- Promotional print material
- Catalogs, online and offline
- Advertisements
- Interactive websites
- Online material and social media
It’s important the company operating at the heart of the travel industry shares relevant details of the demographics of their target audience to the translation and localization agency, so the content can be translated in a suitable tone and style that is well adapted for its intended audience.
Consider points such as;
- What is the demographic of your target audience? What type of travelers is your company targeting e.g. intrepid adventure travelers, business travelers, frugal backpackers or luxury travelers?
- What tone and style of language is most suitable for your type of content considering the context and the type medium the content is presented in? E.g. do you need a descriptive type of content which paints a serene picture of patrons stays in a 5-star luxury resort – or do you need a terse, concise terminology which may even be restricted by character limitations in online forms, menus, or online ticketing systems?
Some companies have ‘style guides’ which outlines how the brand ‘speaks’ which may already include established preferred terminology. A good localization or translation agency can help create one based on input from the client and understanding of the company’s image, brand and corporate culture.
Oftentimes translation of travel related content and marketing content is referred to as ‘transcreation’. ‘Transcreation’ goes hand in hand with translation for marketing and copywriting. There are a few definitions of transcreation, but it essentially means the translator has permission to paraphrase translated content for the purpose of finding suitable expressions in the target language. The linguists translate in a fashion that hits the mark and expresses the same intended meaning while avoiding a too literal translation. The process may include using local idioms and expressions where it improves the translation and avoiding a word by word literal translation.
This like anything else is a skill and a specialized translator needs to be assigned for this type of travel and tourism translation.
Frequently Translated Hospitality Material Include:
- Information booklets
- Pamphlets
- Spa menus
- Brochures
- Restaurant menues
- Entertainment and facilities fliers
- Website and mobile app localization Material includes:
- Reservation software
- Online booking systems
- Back-End software
- Flight information
- Reservation websites
Translation for Booking Platforms
Online travel agencies and operators in the travel and hospitality run booking platforms driven by API / XML technology. This type of technology driven booking platforms is now common in the travel industry. An API booking platform offers travel agents connectivity to travel gateways and enables the system to collate data from different travel and tourism services such as hotels, car rentals, hotels, cruises, excursions booking sites and ticketing systems. The online travel agency or tour operator can then access this data and pull out information to run reports such as booking data or propagate data with pricing and information.
Terminology management and consistency of translation should not be left to chance as different types of database exports from the travel company can often be very large with categorized travel data – so a consistent translation is very important. When you select a translation agency for translation of travel booking platforms it’s therefore important the agency in turn use processes and tools that enable their translators to consistently translate travel data intended to be propagated on these types of platforms.
Tourism and Travel Translations Include:
- Travel listings
- Sightseeing Audio Guides
- Reviews of hotels, restaurants, cruises, and sights experiences
- Travel blog and reviews
Corporate Communications Include:
- Media releases
- Internal Memos
- Company policy documentation
- Shareholder and annual reports
Inbound & Outbound Tour Operators
Many tour operators, both outbound and inbound need a top-notch localized marketing catalog and travel translations that spark interest and attract new customers.
- ‘Outbound’ is referring to tour operators traveling to foreign destinations and e.g. market package tours to other countries.
- ‘Inbound’ is referring to a company which serves travelers coming from other destinations and help both independent travelers to make travel arrangements as well as organizing group package tours catering to a wide range of interest.
Translation for Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industries
The travel industry is a field that warrants the best high-quality translation services possible, which is why VEQTA Translations is delighted to regularly translate content for some of the largest names in the travel and hospitality industry such as Agoda, AirAsia, Starwood Hotels, Marriott International and Hilton, to mention some. We provide translations for all content related to travel, hospitality, tourism, online ticket booking systems and tour operators. We see a revision of content as a natural part of the process and we regularly collaborate with marketing departments’ in-house reviewers, reviewers from embassies, linguistic quality assurance (LQA) teams, editors, in country reviewers.
We are able to liaise with clients I.T teams for tracking version control of translations and data using GitHub and other platforms.
We translate content for luxury resorts predominantly in Asia, boutique hotels and Industry Tourism Boards predominantly in Asia.
With representation in Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, which are some of the top travel destinations in the world, VEQTA Translations is in a perfect location and low-cost environment to offer some very attractive prices for both Asian and European languages. We work with professional career translators, both locals and expats, who are based in Asia and are native speakers. We offer full translation localization, voiceover, and desktop publishing services to provide a non-stop solution with quality second to none. VEQTA Translations currently have around 400 translators in Malaysia and 400 translators in Thailand as well as over 3500 translators available in total to support your translation project in all commercial languages.
For some reading material, check out a blog by VEQTA Translations’ Project Manager in Thailand that she’s updating when she’s not busy coordinating our Thai translation, Thai translators and projects requiring us to translate English to Thai.