Mumbai,
04
May
2018
|
00:00
Europe/Amsterdam

21% Indian travelers face language barriers while travelling

Summary
  • Booking.com research ‘Limitless Traveler’ exposes surprising gap between travel ambitions and reality
  • Collaborates with ili, the world’s fastest offline translation device, to break down language barriers of vacationers and help travelers with simple interactions

Technology has transformed travel, shrinking the world with thousands of destinations only a click away. Booking.com, one of the world’s largest travel e-commerce companies and a digital technology leader, revealed the findings of its new research ‘Limitless Traveler’ which states that Indian travelers are keen to push their limits and seek out the new, yet are being held back by language barriers and niggling anxiety. The research highlights that 21% Indian travelers faced language barriers during their recent travel exposing surprising gaps between their travel ambitions and reality.

Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travelers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, has conducted research across more than 20,500 global travelers in 28 countries to uncover the barriers and anxieties which prevent people from making the most of every trip and reveal how they can move to a state of truly limitless travel.

According to Vikas Bhola, Head for the Indian Sub-Continent, Booking.com, “As the global leader in connecting travelers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, Booking.com believes in limitless travel - travel that fulfils all dreams, explores all experiences, walks all paths, and tries all tastes and textures, so a traveler comes back fulfilled, having missed out on nothing, with no regrets. As an extension of this, we wanted to further explore and celebrate what makes travelers tick, what could potentially hold them back and continue to support them in overcoming these barriers.”

Technology is the key to travelling limitlessly, however, even with technology at hand, more than eight in ten travelers have made travel mistakes (83%) which includes:

  • Misunderstanding directions and getting lost (33%)
  • Mispronouncing a word in the local language (23%)
  • Misunderstanding what was ordered in a restaurant (28%)

Nevertheless, there is a strong desire to be a limitless traveler, with two in five Indian travelers aspiring to be one (40%) – over three quarters want to make the most of every travel experience and travel with no regrets (84%).

In a unique collaboration Booking.com has teamed up with ili, the world’s fastest offline translation device, designed to help travelers discover something new and translate simple phases, it allows you to ask questions at a shop, meet locals at a bar, thanks to it’s easy to use, on-the-fly translation. No internet connection is needed and it can translate words in up to 0.2 seconds. Simply push a button and within seconds you can start using ili to translate your words and the output speaker faces towards the person you’re talking to, making it easy for them to hear. As light as a passport, the ili device only weighs 42 grams and the ergonomic design with rounded corners fits comfortably and naturally in your hand. It also comes with a strap that allows you to keep it around your neck wherever you go.

Currently available only in the US, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, has already been used by over 50,000 travelers around the world. The one-way device is available in the following languages:

  • English (input) to Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese
  • Mandarin (input) to Japanese and English
  • Japanese (input) to Korean, Mandarin, and English
  • Korean (input) to Japanese

Overcoming travel trepidations

Great accommodation options would help Indian travelers overcome anxieties about travelling, with 50% agreeing. Positive reviews from other travelers (41%), being able to ask questions in the local language (30%), and being able to order their favorite food (36%) would also help. Over half also say technology frequently helps them find local insights when abroad (71%).

As a global leader in digital technology, Booking.com has already brought travelers its pilot Booking Assistant, an Artificial Intelligence chatbot which empowers customers to get first-line support for upcoming bookings, all through a single intuitive chat interface. With over 147 million real guest reviews on Booking.com travelers can also research and get advice in their own language before they go.

- Ends-

NOTE TO EDITORS

Research commissioned by Booking.com and independently conducted among a sample of adults who have taken a trip in the last 12 months/plan to take a trip in the next 12 months. In total 20,500 respondents were surveyed across 28 countries (1,000+ from Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Brazil, India, the USA, the UK, Russia, Indonesia and Columbia and 500+ each from Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Croatia, Taiwan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore and Israel.) Respondents completed the survey in March 2018

Boilerplate

About Booking.com:

Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com B.V. has grown from a small Dutch start-up to one of the largest travel e-commerce companies in the world. Part of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: BKNG), Booking.com now employs more than 17,000 employees in 198 offices in 70 countries worldwide. With a mission to empower people to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. At Booking.com, we connect travelers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts, tree houses and even igloos. The Booking.com website and mobile apps are available in 43 languages, offer over 27 million total reported listings and cover more than 130,000 destinations in 227 countries and territories worldwide.

Each day, more than 1.5 million room nights are reserved on our platform. So whether traveling for business or leisure, customers can instantly book their ideal place to stay quickly and easily with Booking.com, without booking fees and backed up by our promise to price match. Via our customer experience team, customers can reach Booking.com 24/7 for assistance and support in 43 languages, any time of the day or night.

About ili

Ili is the world’s fastest offline translator designed for travelers. It can translate your words into other languages in as little as 0.2 seconds without an internet connection. Developed by Logbar, a Japanese startup, ili has been used by over 50,000 travelers around the world. ili has also received high praise from outlets such as Forbes.