10
Nov
2009
English for Tourism and Hospitality
Tourism and Hospitality
Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes, defined by the World Tourism Organisation as people who travel and stay in places other than their normal environment, for more than 24 hours and less than one consecutive year, for the purpose of leisure. Tourism can involve both relaxation and learning, participating in activities such as extreme sports or experimenting with local cuisine, exploring natural landmarks or visiting historic buildings. Hospitality is the practice of receiving and entertaining guests, and the industry covers hotels, restaurants, resorts, and places that offer tourist activities.
Hospitality and tourism often make up a substantial part of a country’s national income, depending on the opportunities and services available to tourists and the popularity of the destination. The tourist industry includes a vast array of goods and services, from transportation services, to amusement parks, shopping centres, cruise ships and more.
English Courses for Tourism
English courses that are designed for those wanting to work in the tourism and hospitality industries cover basic English skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as more specific topics. Topics covered could include types of accommodation, dealing with guests and tourists, handling customer complaints, learning related vocabulary to answer the phone and arrange tours, etc. They could also be very specific courses, such as English and Surfing.
One of the great ways to learn English for tourism is to study overseas and actually combine your studies with tourist activities. So for example, if you study at an English college on the Gold Coast, you could learn English related to activities such as marine sports (fishing, surfing, jet skiing, scuba diving), theme parks or sightseeing. Or if studying at a college in Sydney, you could learn how to interact with people actually working in the tourism and hospitality industries, including public transport officers, waiters, tour guides and so on.
10
Nov
2009
English for Tour Guiding
Tour Guiding in English
Tour guiding is an exciting, challenging and fulfilling job. Not only do you get to visit beautiful sights and learn about historic sites, but you are responsible for a tour groups’ safety and enjoyment, and can be challenged by questions you may not have the answers to. As a tour guide, your main role is to make sure the tour is interesting and informative.
There are three main areas of focus for those wanting to polish their English to be a tour guide. The first is how to explain rules and safety precautions clearly and politely. A good technique is to memorise your speech rather than reading it. This way people will pay closer attention and understand you more clearly. It is also a good idea to ask questions at the end of your speech to ensure that they have understood it, such as “Is everyone clear about this?” .
The second is learning how to give advice in a friendly way about useful tips as the tourists are likely to be foreigners and know little about the country. Learn the terminology associated with exchanging money, catching public transport, etiquette particular to the culture, and where to find places.
Tour guides should also try to know as much as possible about the history, culture and scenery that you are touring. While you don’t have to talk the entire time, you should know enough to keep the tourists interested and be able to answer questions. You may not always have the answers to people’s questions, however you can be prepared for common types of questions and how they will be phrased.
English Tour Guiding Courses
An English course designed to prepare people to become tour guides is often a better option than taking a more general course or simply starting to work without having a good grasp of the English language. The latter could mean that not only would you underperform in your job, but that you may be putting tourists at risk by not making safety precautions clear.
Tour guide courses place special emphasis on speaking and listening skills, confidence-building exercises and projects, and excursions to get first-hand experience on how tour guiding.