Abstract:
The success of any tourism business depends on the skill to communicate effectively with customers.
Competence in English is no longer satisfactory in itself to find a job in the tourism industry. The aim of
the study is to address the gap in research by investigating the interaction of language and tourist
experiences by examining the association between pleasant tourist experiences and foreign language
knowledge. For this purpose, the study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The
efforts of tourism businesses and their preparedness to solve language barriers in the tourism industry
were examined through semi-structured interviews with 15 tourism businesses inclusive of owners and
managers. In addition to the qualitative data collected, quantitative data was obtained through 400
questionnaires from both domestic and international tourists at the Gariep Dam. The results suggest
that despite the increase in foreign visitors, most tourism businesses are reluctant to appoint staff based
on foreign language skills. The study concludes that a great number of tourists regard their English
proficiency as poor which makes it difficult for them to communicate their required products and services
clearly. This leads to misunderstandings and dissatisfaction tourists will leave a destination being
frustrated. Although very few tourists indicated they have experienced language barriers and have
complained about it to the manager, no perceptible solutions were put forward to resolve language
barriers. In conclusion, the study urges tourism businesses to pay attention to the language issues and
asserts that language barriers could be solved if larger tourism establishments have clear written
language policies in place. Lastly, foreign language skills should also be considered as an employment
criterion for employees in the tourism industry. Even though all staff have the right to communicate in
the language they prefer for the purposes of job security, they need to learn new languages in order to
perform their jobs optimally.
