Around the World in A ClickA Reflection on Translation Quality in Tourism Promotion

  1. Adrián Fuentes Luque 1
  2. María Cristina Valdés Rodríguez 2
  1. 1 Universidad Pablo de Olavide
    info

    Universidad Pablo de Olavide

    Sevilla, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02z749649

  2. 2 Universidad de Oviedo
    info

    Universidad de Oviedo

    Oviedo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/006gksa02

Journal:
Hikma: estudios de traducción = translation studies

ISSN: 1579-9794

Year of publication: 2024

Volume: 23

Issue: 1

Pages: 231-251

Type: Article

DOI: 10.21071/HIKMA.V23I1.15993 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Hikma: estudios de traducción = translation studies

Abstract

Quality tourism means quality products. Much of the tourist content is translated. Therefore, quality translations are necessary to ensure positive levels of tourist satisfaction. The differentiation of a brand is achieved through the perceived image (Andreu et al., 2000, p. 49). There are three components in the formation of the image: beliefs and attitudes associated with the product, level of knowledge about the destination, and expectations about the product (Nobs, 2003). Precisely, translation plays a crucial role on the last two elements. Often, users' expectations are not considered when designing, creating and translating tourism promotional material, which results in unsuccessful and even failed promotional campaigns that can damage the image of the destination and the products it offers. Since perceived image is not a static parameter, all participants in the promotional development of the tourist destination should review the tourist products and services on offer and their projected image, trying to adjust market niches, products, and destinations to existing or potential tourists, a process in which the translation of tourism promotional texts plays a decisive role. In this paper, we delve into the issue of quality in the translation of tourism promotional material (whether printed, on websites, apps, and social media), through the analysis of several international tourist promotion campaigns.

Bibliographic References

  • Agorni, M. (2012). Tourism communication: the translator’s responsibility in the translation of cultural difference. PASOS. Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, Vol. 10, n. 4, 5-11. https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2012.10.048 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25145/j.pasos.2012.10.048
  • Andreu, L., Bigné, J. E. & Cooper, C. (2000). Projected and Perceived image of Spain as a Tourist Destination for British Travellers. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing 9 (4), 47-67. https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v09n04_03 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v09n04_03
  • Antón Argudo, Marián. 2022. Se busca start-up para revolucionar el sector turístico. Hosteltur. https://www.hosteltur.com/comunidad/nota/028291_se-busca-startup-para-revolucionar-el-sector-turistico.html
  • Cómitre Narváez, I. & Valverde Zambrana, J. M. (2014). How to translate culture-specific items: a case study of tourist promotion campaign by Turespaña. The Journal of Specialised Translation, 21, 71-112. https://jostrans.soap2.ch/issue21/art_comitre.php
  • Dann, G. (1996). The Language of Tourism. Oxon: CAB International.
  • Doxa. 2020. Podcast: A growing phenomenon in Italy. https://www.bva-doxa.com/en/podcast-a-growing-phenomenon-in-italy/
  • Durán-Muñoz, I. (2008). La traducción turística de calidad: una necesidad indudable en la España de hoy. VII Congreso Anual Internacional de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos (AELFE): Investigación y enseñanza de lenguas para fines específicos: nuevos retos, nuevos contextos. 380-395. Murcia.
  • Foris, D., Popescu, M. & Foris, T. (2018). A Comprehensive Review of the Quality Approach in Tourism. In L. Butowski (Ed.) Mobilities, Tourism and Travel Behavior - Contexts and Boundaries, 159-188. Intechopen. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70494
  • Fuentes-Luque, A. (2016). Branding and selling a country through translated tourism advertising. Revista de Lenguas para Fines Específicos 22.2, 84-103. https://ojsspdc.ulpgc.es/ojs/index.php/LFE/article/view/766 DOI: https://doi.org/10.20420/rlfe.2016.318
  • Instituto de Turismo de España. (n.d.). Portal Oficial de Turismo de España. https://www.spain.info/es/
  • Kelly, D. (1997). The Translation of Texts from the Tourist Sector: Textual Conventions, Cultural Distance and Other Constraints. TRANS, 2, 33-42. https://doi.org/10.24310/TRANS.1998.v0i2.2354 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24310/TRANS.1998.v0i2.2354
  • Hickey, L. (2004). Perlocutionary Pursuits: Persuading of/that/to. In M. P. Navarro Errasti, R. Lorés Sanz & S. Murillo Ornat (Eds.), Pragmatics at Work: The Translation of Tourist Literature, 57-79. Peter Lang.
  • Instituto de Turismo de España (2022). Portal Oficial de Turismo de España. https://www.spain.info/gcc/en/
  • Morgan, N. & Pritchard, A. (2001). Advertising in Tourism and Leisure. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
  • Nobs, M. L. (2003) Expectativas y evaluación en la traducción de folletos turísticos: estudio empírico con usuarios reales. PhD thesis. Granada: Universidad de Granada. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.50.11nob
  • New Zealand Government. (s.d.). Newzealand.com. https://www.newzealand.com/
  • Pierini, P. (2007). Quality in Web Translation: An Investigation into UK and Italian Tourism Web Sites. The Journal of Specialized Translation. Issue 8 – July 2007, 85-103. https://jostrans.soap2.ch/issue08/art_pierini.php
  • Segittur (2022) Guía de las actuaciones más destacadas en los destinos distinguidos con el reconocimiento de Destino Turístico Inteligente https://www.segittur.es/sala-de-prensa/informes/guia_buena
  • Séguinot, C. (1994). Translation and Advertising: Going Global. Cultural Functions of Translation. Current Issues Language and Society, 1(3), 249-266.
  • Sharma, G.K. & Pradeep, K. (2007). Handbook of Management Terms. Hyderabab: The ICFAI University Press Books.
  • Shi-xu. (2015). A Cultural Approach to Discourse. London: Palgrave Macmillan London. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2014.890947 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2014.890947
  • Smart Tourism Destinations. (2021) About Us. Retrieved 13 December 2022 from https://smarttourismdestinations.eu/about-us/
  • Soto Almela, J. (2013). La traducción de términos culturales en el contexto turístico español-inglés: recepción real en usuarios anglófonos. Quaderns, Revista de traducció, 20, 235-250.
  • Statista (2024). Total contribution of travel and tourism to gross domestic product (GDP) worldwide in 2019 and 2022, with a forecast for 2023 and 2033. https://www.statista.com/statistics/233223/travel-and-tourism-total-economic-contribution-worldwide/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20contribution%20of%20travel,percent%20below%20pre%2Dpandemic%20levels.
  • Sulaiman, M. Z. & Wilson, R. (2019). Tourism Promotional Materials. Translation and Tourism. Strategies for Effective Cross-Cultural Promotion. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6343-6
  • Turespaña Oficial [@Turespana_] (2022, 22 May). @Turespana_ lanza hoy en las redes sociales de #China: Un programa de promoción turística en directo en prime time [Tweet]. Twitter.https://twitter.com/Turespana_/status/1530122396048535552
  • United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), https://www.unwto.org/glossary-tourism-terms
  • Valdés, C. (2008). The Localization of Promotional Discourse on the Internet. In D. Chiaro, C. Heiss & C. Bucaria (Eds.) Between Text and Image: Updating research in screen translation, 227-240. Amsterdam and New York: John Benjamins. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.78.23val
  • VisitBritain (2023) https://www.visitbritain.com/en
  • World Tourism Organisation (WTO) (2023a) United Nations. Glossary of terms. https://www.unwto.org/glossary-tourism-terms
  • World Tourism Organisation (WTO) (2023b). United Nations. Language services. https://www.unwto.org/language-services
  • World Tourism Organisation (WTO) (2023c) United Nations. Data, intelligence and trends. https://www.unwto.org/language-services
  • World Tourism Organisation (WTO) (2021) United Nations. International Tourism Highlights. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284422456
  • Zanettin, F. (2008). Comics in Translation: An Overview. In F. Zanettin (Ed.) Comics in Translation, 1-32. St. Jerome Publishing.
Data source: Dialnet