There are a number of languages that are spoken in the European continent, including a few major languages and many smaller ones. Most of the languages in Europe belong to the Indo-European language family, while other belong to the Finno-Ugric family, The Turkic family, and the North and South Caucasian families. With all the language and cultural differences within the continent, doing business in Europe can seem at times like a daunting task. However, if translation is attended to with just a few of the major European tongues, the majority of people can be reached and promoted to.
English and German are the two most widely spoken and understood European languages, and any business needs to have any relevant material translated into both of these languages in order to reach out to the biggest possible market. The hotel and tourism industry needs to be more attentive to translation issues than any other. The very nature of travelling and tourism when combined with the number of countries and language groups in Europe means that hotels would always be advised to translate their brochures, websites, advertisements, and in-house information into the language groups of their existing and target markets.
English has become the de-facto global language of business and international communication, and German is the major language spoken in the European continent – meaning that at the very least, hotels should undertake German and English translation no matter where they are within Europe. This means that a Berlin restaurant or hotel would only need to translate into English to provide the vast majority of its visitors with a working understanding of its establishment and its policies. While it is preferable to have a staff member with a speaking knowledge of English and German available at all times, even a simple textual translation can go a long way in many situations.
It is a good idea to have hotel and review websites translated into English and German, as many people use the Internet as a way to research travel destinations, accommodation, and to make reservations as well. A number of hotel Berlin reviews (Hotel Bewertungen Berlin) websites are written in German and translated into English to appeal to as large a market as possible. The translation of hotel information is a vital part of running a hotel business, and the two dominant languages in Europe are German and English. If a hotel or other type of tourism related business can obtain quality translations in these two languages, then they are well on their way to success.