The importance of the Spanish language in the tourism sector
Did you know that Spanish is the second mother tongue in the world in terms of number of speakers? And did you know that the Spanish-speaking community has increased by 70% in the last 30 years? This is not just me saying this, it is data from the Yearbook prepared by the Cervantes Institute in 2021.
Seeing these figures, you can imagine the importance of knowing how to speak Spanish and the enormous advantage it is for you to master this language if you are a professional in the tourism sector and want to provide a better service to your passengers in Spain and Latin America.
If you work in the air transport sector, I suppose you come across thousands of people throughout the day, many of them Spanish-speaking. Tired travelers, full of nerves, in a hurry and, sometimes, knowing only their native language (Spanish). How do you communicate with them?
Today I want to teach you some basic phrases that can help you when you meet travelers who only speak Spanish.
At the check-in counter:
- Good morning: Good morning
- Buenas tardes/noches: Good afternoon/evening
- Where are you traveling to, sir/madam?
- May I have your passport or identity card?
- Do you carry luggage: Do you carry luggage?
- How many suitcases do you carry? : How many suitcases do you carry?
- Do you carry hand baggage: Do you carry hand baggage?
- Do you prefer window or corridor: Do you prefer window or corridor?
- This is your ticket, your flight departs at … from the boarding gate…: This is your ticket, your flight departs at … from the boarding gate …
- Have a safe journey: Have a safe journey
During shipment:
Inside the aircraft:
- Would you like to see the menu: Would you like to see the menu?
- Would you like something to eat: Would you like something to eat?
- Would you like something to drink: Would you like something to drink?
- Any newspaper, sir/madam: Any newspaper, sir/madam?
Sale on board:
- Is there anything you would like, sir/madam?
- We are out of that product: We are out of that product.
- We have another similar product: We have another similar product.
- What size/color would you like it in: What size/color would you like it in?
- Would you like to pay by credit card: Would you like to pay by credit card?
- In which currency would you like to pay?
- Could you please sign here: Could you please sign here?
When you do not understand what the passenger is saying:
- Pardon?: Pardon ?
- I beg your pardon?I beg your pardon?
- Could you repeat, please?
- Could you speak up, please?
Arrival at the destination airport:
Now you can practice what you have learned by filling in the blanks in the following text:
What is a flight crew member’s workday like?
In the following video you can see what a flight attendant’s (also called flight attendant or cabin crew member) work day is like.
I suggest you do the interactive exercises throughout the video to expand your vocabulary.
Thank you for being here and for reading me. Remember that you can download for free my ebooks of Spanish for the tourism sector, I am sure they will be of great help to you.
I encourage you to share this post if you think it might be of interest to someone else.
