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The Importance of Foreign Language Mastery in the Tourism Sector

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Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems (ICOTTS 2023)

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 383))

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Abstract

Tourism has reached, at least until the pre-pandemic time (covid-19), an unprecedented dimension and presents itself as a sector that employs millions of people worldwide. In fact, foreign languages have been gaining more and more power in the business world, especially the English language which becomes fundamental in contact with the tourist–client. Thus, it is pertinent to study this issue, in harmony with the fundamentals of tourism, in order to better understand the use of languages and the value they may have in the development of the sector. Based on theoretical background, mainly focused on tourism development and its fundamentals, the value and use of foreign languages today, and the results of the questionnaires conducted, it can be inferred that the use of languages in the tourism and hospitality sector play, in fact, a very important role in the success of the professional activity, since the use of language makes contact with the tourist–client closer, thus creating an immediate relationship of trust. In short, it is argued that understanding and/or mastery of foreign languages confer multiple advantages and are an invaluable asset that has to be increasingly developed today. In an interdisciplinary perspective, the present manuscript presents inputs for tourism and hotel management. At the end, guidelines for future work will be presented.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA), Barcelos, Portugal

    Diana Coelho

  2. GOVCOPP and University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Dina Ramos

  3. Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave (IPCA), CiTUR and UNIAG, Barcelos, Portugal

    Bruno Barbosa Sousa

Authors
  1. Diana Coelho
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  2. Dina Ramos
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  3. Bruno Barbosa Sousa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bruno Barbosa Sousa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Accounting and Administration of Porto (ISCAP), Polytechnic of Porto, São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal

    António Abreu

  2. Institute of Accounting and Administration of Porto (ISCAP), Polytechnic of Porto, São Mamede de Infesta, Portugal

    João Vidal Carvalho

  3. School of Hospitality and Tourism, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Liberato

  4. Faculty of Tourism and Gastronomy, Universidad Anáhuac México, Huixquilucan Estado de México, Mexico, Mexico

    Hazael Cerón Monroy

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Coelho, D., Ramos, D., Sousa, B.B. (2024). The Importance of Foreign Language Mastery in the Tourism Sector. In: Abreu, A., Carvalho, J.V., Liberato, P., Monroy, H.C. (eds) Advances in Tourism, Technology and Systems. ICOTTS 2023. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 383. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-9765-7_6

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