Exploring the Link Between Pleasant Tourist Experiences and Linguistic Competence: A Case Study of the Gariep Dam, Free State

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.