Why Does Tourism Sector Need Localization Services?
As you know, various sectors came to an almost full stop in most countries including Türkiye with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the entire global population in recent years. Nonetheless, a significant progress was made to fight against this virus thanks to vaccines developed and restrictions imposed on many sectors were gradually lifted.
As a vital sector and key source of national income for most countries, the tourism sector was one of those suffering from such restrictions during that period. Fortunately, at this point, it is safe to say that the sector has quickly recovered since the pandemic and carries on its activities today.
With technological developments, the tourism sector has become even more prominent and represented one of the sectors to quickly adapt to digitalization. Today, every one of us is able to complete our hotel, flight, or travel bookings through the Internet with just a few clicks. Based on the surveys, every three out of four people prefer to book their holiday destinations or itinerary online rather than actually visiting a travel agency office.
So, why do travel companies need to translate their content?
No translation means no communication
Translation in the tourism sector is a requirement and companies engaged in tourism sector in particular know this well. From hotels and travel agencies to any other line of business related to tourism activities, all these companies aim to reach out as many people as possible from all around the world. This is only possible if you “speak the same language”.
Customers do not want to rely on a poorly translated website and web content.
Even the smallest translation error on a website is perceived by the customer as lack of attention and a failure to build trust. Any misinterpreted statement could potentially cause significant damage. For instance, incorrect translation of any content related to payments or providing incomplete travel details may cause the customer to suffer from both material and intangible damages. In order to ensure customer loyalty and maintain the brand image, engaging the services of professional translation offices is imperative for providing accurate translations.
Translated online content facilitates access to new target markets
One of the most effective methods to reach out to customers in other countries includes translated content (e.g., websites, social media accounts, blogs, etc.). Based on the recent surveys, Internet users prefer reading content created in their native language even though English is widely accepted as an international language throughout the world.
SEO (search engine optimization) is empowered by translation activity
Used within the context of content in multilingual websites of tourism companies, SEO strategy should be different for each language as keywords vary from one country to another. This strategy is determined by search engines like Google. For this reason, a website created in a single language would pose a challenge or even make it nearly impossible for tourism companies to be listed in search results in other languages. If a business aims at reaching out to various target markets through organic search results, it can be useful to provide content in the native language spoken in the target market; otherwise, search engines would not allow you to stand out among your competitors.
Key messages require adaptation to the culture of each language
Tourism sector is often associated with the “entertainment” and “fun” concepts and such concepts are reflected in key messages provided. At this stage, localization services, which is more than translation, are engaged and efforts are made to adapt such key messages to the target audience and messages that are familiar to the target audience are used. In this context, beliefs, lifestyles, viewpoints, and preferences of the target audience always come to the forefront for accurate translation services.
