Only 8% of hotels in Ireland sampled have multilingual websites - new survey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) August 23, 2010 -- A nationwide survey of Irish hotels has found that only 8% of those sampled offer languages other than English on their website. The survey carried out by website translation specialists Cipherion Translations, highlights the need for Irish hotels to engage with non-English speaking customers in their own language to generate more business from abroad.

More than 300 million people in continental Europe do not have English as their first language. In order to better attract business from this huge foreign market, Irish hotels must maximise their accessibility and user-friendliness to potential customers.

In the past 12 months, some of Ireland's leading hotels have availed of Cipherion's website translation services as more and more Irish hoteliers are understanding the need to go 'multilingual' on their websites.

"As experts in providing translation services to the Irish hotel industry, we have seen an increase in requests from Irish hotels wishing to have a multilingual website in order to attract more foreign business," says Mark Rodgers, MD of Cipherion Translations and Chairman of the Irish Internet Association's International Strategy Working Group.

With 92% of the hotel websites sampled yet to offer French, German or other language options, Cipherion sees a need to highlight the value of a multilingual website when seeking to attract business from abroad.

"Your website is your 'shop window' to the world and we want to help Irish hotels get more out of theirs. So we are working with Irish hoteliers to increase awareness of the importance of localising their website to the market they are targeting, whether it is France, Germany or beyond," says Rodgers. "It's quite amazing how many Irish hotels have not grasped the opportunity to speak to potential customers in their own language. Yet when we book our own holidays overseas, we instinctively search for English-language websites to ensure we understand fully what type of resort or property we are booking."

A translated website is not a guarantee that profits will increase. However, as markets become more competitive, speaking to customers in their own language enhances the opportunity for converting a lead into a sale. It is time for Irish hotels to follow the lead of other successful Irish businesses and reach out to customers abroad. Effectively, a hotel needs to act like a European sales and marketing centre and target customers in each of these markets.

As a general tip for hoteliers, Cipherion Translations recommend combining a translated website with a multilingual booking engine to maximise conversion ratios from their websites.

A copy of the Cipherion Translations 'Transl8' survey can be accessed through their website at www.cipherion.com. This survey was carried out at the end of May 2010.

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