Anda Komarovska
Turiba University
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Topicality: The accessibility of information in foreign languages (basically English, German and Russian) promotes Riga (and Latvia) as a foreign tourist destination. The goal of the study is to determine the accessibility of Riga (and Latvia) as a tourist destination from a foreign language perspective. The tasks of the research are to conduct an empirical study of accessibility of Riga (and Latvia) as a tourist destination from a foreign language perspective. The following methods are used: The research of theoretical literature and sources, empirical methods ( an experiment, expert interviews).Conclusions and suggestion: The result of the empirical study of Riga as a tourist destination proves that Riga and Latvia are foreign tourist unfriendly from a foreign language perspective: the amount of visual information meant for foreign visitors is insufficient, the foreign language command of employees of the sector of tourism service is rather poor. A foreign tourist must be well prepared for a visit to Latvia, previously collecting information in web pages as well as consulting the local tourist information centres and travel agencies. Keywords: language, information, communication, tourist, destination, accessibility, attractions. |
Nowadays tourism has become a popular leisure time activity, so all potential tourists try to organize it beforehand, choosing new destinations and types of leisure time activity. The tourism market is full of different offers and possibilities how to spend the vacation.
Both in Europe and the whole world the competition in the industry of tourism is becoming really severe: the market is full of a big variety of tourism products, new destinations are on offer, as well as there are new tourism products customized for travellers’ needs (Mārketinga stratēģija, 2010) . So Latvia is forced to strengthen its position in tourism market significantly in order to raise its competitiveness, taking into account the fact that Latvia as a tourist destination is still weakly recognizable, and its competitiveness is rather low (Mārketinga stratēģija, 2010). However nowadays most tourists are really demanding travellers.
There are series of various motivations why a particular destination has been selected for a journey.
Research has proved that one of the leading motivations to visit a particular destination is “ease of communication” , which means the availability of comprehensible information both in written and spoken languages to a traveller (Goeldner, 2003). The concept of “a language” is usually applied to describe verbal expressions that people use in their communication both in a spoken and written form, therefore a cross cultural communication or the exchange of information without supplying a translation in a corresponding language is unimaginable (Striphes, 2006; Sellnon et al, 2009; Barry, 1997, Starpkultūru komunikācija, 2010).
The translation of the necessary information into a language, comprehensible to a tourist, means a lot more than just an indication “where to go, what to do, etc.”, but also demonstrates a respectful attitude to a person who has decided to spend his/her money in the corresponding country (Striphes, 2006).
There exist assumptions that one of the biggest disadvantages in the offer of Latvia’s tourism products is the language barrier, in other words, – the insufficient amount of information in a language, comprehensible to tourists (Mārketinga stratēģija, 2010; Aptaujas anketa, 2010) In connection with data, compiled by the Central Statistics Department, most tourists arrive in Latvia from Russia, the Baltic as well as the Scandinavian states, also from Great Britain (European Travel Commission 2010); therefore, the above mentioned countries belong to prior and high prior target markets- in short- these are the countries with the biggest potential to increase the return from marketing investments (Mārketinga stratēģija, 2010; Lulle, 2010) In addition, it could also mean that it is essential to supply the necessary information to a traveller in languages that are basically understandable to tourists who arrive from prior target markets.
Although many believe that the English language is a universal language which “as if” should be understood by everyone, yet the dominance of the English language is frequently denied and accepted with antipathy (Toth, 2007). It means a logical necessity to supply the information, vital to a tourist, in at least three foreign languages – English, German and Russian. It should be added that in the Eastern countries there are very many potential tourists, and the future growth of the number of tourists not only from Russia, but also from Belarus and Kazakhstan may be anticipated , which means the focus of a particular attention to translations in the Russian language (Naglis, 2010).
Purpose of the research
To establish the accessibility of Riga and Latvia to a tourist from a foreign language perspective.
Research question
Taking into account the above mentioned information the author proposed a research question: to clarify and evaluate how accessible is Riga (and Latvia) at present to an individual traveller who has arrived from a prior target market country, and who understands the English or/and Russian or/and German languages, and who has previously made flight ticket and hotel accommodation reservations on the internet, where the tourist has also basically got introduced to the infrastructure of the destination as well as the offered product: attractions, transport, enterteinment facilities, catering, etc.
Methodology of the research
As the research requires personal contact, the qualitative approach has been selected. Accordingly the following research methods were used:
Stages of the research:
the author made an experiment: to go to the centre of Riga from the airport by public transport, using the available verbal information in foreign languages. After that several most popular tourist destinations were selected with an aim to visit them individually, and during these visits to state how visual, comprehensible and available is the information, aimed at the visitor, for example, about the usage of the public transport (stops, fares, etc.) that takes the visitor to the necessary destination, as well as – how available is the information in the destinations themselves; the catering possibilities during the journey, etc.
The starting point of the journey was selected a hotel in the centre of Riga Radisson Blu, and as the local destinations were selected Riga Central maket, Art Nouveau museum, the Open Air Museum, Jurmala, as well as Rundale Castle. The justification of the author’s choice: to reach the selected destinations from the centre of Riga (where the tourist is hypothetically staying), various means of public transport must be used, also walking, with the use of a city map and different visual informative notices. Some of the destinations are essentially different, moreover, not all of them have been arranged, taking into account the needs of a foreign tourist.
Sample of the research
The sample of expert interviews comprised 5 respondents. The respondents were selected according to the following principles:
Expert interviews
Interviewing the employees of Riga Tourist Information centre the author clarifies the basic needs of foreign travellers (first of all individual travellers), their main needs and requirements; interviewing the marketing director of Latvian Tourism Development Agency (further in the text LTDA) Linda Penka the author learns about the current problems of the branch of tourism (basically-financial), because of which the translation of tourist information in foreign languages is limited; in the interview with the LTDA director’s advisor and lecturer in School of Business Administration Turiba Aija van der Steina the author defines, what exactly disappoints foreign tourists from a foreign language perspective; in the interviews with the head of a travel agency A-SONO Zanda Sena and the corporate group travel consultant in Baltics and a long – term travel guide Aira Liepkalne, as well as the director of the travel agency FTB Latvia Anta Jokste, the author clarifies the new trends in inbound tourism. In the result of all previously mentioned interviews the following assumption is justified: foreign tourists (especially tourists from Germany) more and more often select individual and independent travel, therefore without the guidance of a tour operator and travel agencies they arrange their own itinerary, make an electronic reservation of transport and accommodation, and independently select tourist attractions, previously collecting information about them form various sources, basically in the I-net. Using the information searcher Google programme, and printing the phrase “tourism in Latvia”, sufficient amount of information in the English, German and Russian languages becomes available. Latvia’s official tourism portal (Kurp doties, 2010) must be specifically mentioned, although the author found several grammar and spelling mistakes in the English version of this piece of information. Pictures, maps, explanations, how to get to the selected destination, as well as more detailed information about the history of the site, etc., are available.
In addition, the research was done with an assistance of the students of School of Business administration Turiba, the faculty of International tourism, – Lita Retko in particular.
The rapidly growing number of individual travellers lets the author make a conclusion that the necessity to supply information, vital for a tourist in foreign languages, is becoming more and more topical.
The process of the research
While working out the route of the experimental excursion the following criteria were taken into consideration:
The assessment was made using Likert scale 1–5 (where 1 means poor, 2 – partially unsatisfactory, 3 – satisfactory, 4 – partially satisfactory, 5 – good).
Arrival in Latvia
After a foreign traveller’s arrival in Riga International airport in Latvia it is easy to state that all informative notices are available only in the English and Latvian languages. As a specific exception can be mentioned a notice on the front door in the Russian language with a piece of information how to find the tourism information bureau at the airport. However it has been closed since the beginning of 2011, which makes the situation worse.
After collecting the baggage and leaving the airport through the arrival hall the traveller finds a stand that gives information about public transport (in Latvian and English) that takes passengers to town centre. The information is partially false, as the bus stop of bus 22 is located approximately 100 metres farther away, opposite the car park, and the passenger must walk in order to reach the stop. All previously mentioned (as well as the information about the fare and the frequency of bus 22 traffic) can be found in Riga airport home page (Riga International airport, 2009). The bus driver is not capable of communicating either in the English or German languages. A taxi can also be used to reach the town centre, and also the company Air Baltic express, however in this case the fare for the journey is considerably more expensive.
A conclusion must be made that a tourist who has not previously searched for the information about the possibilities to get to the centre of Riga from the airport, can face difficulties both due to the shortage of information and the language barrier.
From a foreign language perspective the arrival from Riga International airport to the centre of Riga can be assessed as partially unsatisfactory.
Riga Central Market
There is a huge amount of information about the Central market available in series of home pages (Riga travel, 2010; Riga City guide, 2010; Kurp doties un ko apskatīt, 2010; Around and about, 2010, etc.), this tourist attraction is significant as a territory that has been included in the UNESCO heritage list; it can also be found in the list of the main tourist destinations of LTDA, moreover, in the official homepage of Latvia’s tourism (Kurp doties, 2010) it has been mentioned as an attraction that belongs to TOP 10. According to the opinion of Tourism information centre employees and travel guides, the foreign tourists have always found the Central market as one of the most attractive local destinations. Travellers’ references are rather contradictory, though. From individual informal talks with foreign tourists a conclusion can be made that the market dramatically faces the insufficiency of information in foreign languages (basically in a written notice form), and many tourists travel the market with the help of “intuition” .
The author goes to the Central market on foot (orientators – Central Bus station, Central Rail terminal), following Riga city map that is available in hotels in different brochures, tourist information centres, and can be printed from the internet. The physical accessibility of the Central market is rather complicated due to the peculiarities of the streets’ and tunnels’ construction, as well as the lack of written information how to get there.
An unprepared traveller may get an impression that there is big chaos in the Central market: informative notices can be found only in the pavilions, besides, in most cases they are only in the Latvian language. Translations (basically in Russian) are very seldom, and they are insignificant. There are no translations in the German language. The staff of the Central market does not communicate in foreign languages, however, taking into consideration the specific of a market, this fact should not be evaluated as a big disadvantage.
Series of different bistros, coffee bars, buffets, etc., where a traveller can have a meal, are accessible in the Central market, yet the information about the location of these establishments is chaotic and hardly available.
After visiting the Central market a conclusion can be made that the Central market is a curious and colouring place, yet for a foreign tourist it is rather complicated and incomprehensible because of the lack of translated information and its chaotic location; on the whole from a foreign language perspective the situation in the Riga Central market must be assessed as poor.
Alberta Street
The next object that can be reached by walking from the city centre and following the city map is Art Nouveau museum, located in Alberta Street. It is particularly famous for its art nouveau architecture, and also belongs to the most frequently visited tourist attractions. “Riga is included into UNESCO World heritage list because of the collection of art nouveau buildings, which is one of the biggest in the world, in addition, as a city, the architecture of which reflects the city history starting from 1201 to nowadays” (Art Nouveau district, 2010; Rīgas jūgendstila centrs, 2010) Huge amounts of information about Alberta Street and the museum located there is easily available on the internet in several languages. Getting to Alberta Street is not complicated, as the names of all the streets are indicated, and the walk to the museum is a fascinating excursion by itself: the marvellous art nouveau buildings are everywhere – they are located not only in Alberta Street, but in all the nearby streets in this district. Some of the buildings carry notice boards with information (basically in the Latvian language) about the history of the particular building and the personalities who took part in the architectural design and construction of the building.
The informative signboard of the museum is displayed on the street, it is only in the Latvian and English languages, yet inside the museum the accessibility of information in different foreign languages is excellent: informative brochures as well as the description of each room can be read in the Latvian, English, Russian and German languages. The staff are kind and hospitable, and attractive, capable of communicating in foreign languages. The museum is quite small, but really original and singular, and gives an impression about the art nouveau era and basic peculiarities of this style. An informative film about art nouveau style in Riga is demonstrated upon the customers’ request.
After visiting Art Nouveau museum in Riga a conclusion can be made that the accessibility of information about Riga as an art nouveau centre from a foreign language perspective is good.
Open Air Museum
As the next tourist atraction the Open Air Museum has been selected, which is one of the most popular and unique tourist attractions. It is located in the territory of Riga, yet far away in the suburbs, and an individual traveller can reach it only by means of public transport. There is sufficient amount of information about the Open Air Museum in the Latvia’s tourism portal (Kurp doties, 2010) as well as other home pages; there are also offered means of transport that may take tourists to the destination.
The author has selected a bus – route No1, and the bus stop is next to the Open Air Museum, yet the home page does not indicate the location of the bus stop in the city centre. A tourist must search for this information either in a hotel, or a Tourist information centre, or the home page of Riga public transport (Rīgas satiksme, 2010). There the necessary information is available in the Latvian, Russian, English, Lithuanian and Estonian languages.
After getting off the bus, the notice about the location of the museum is only in the Latvian and English languages, yet the stands near the entrance with detailed information can be found also in the Russian and German languages.
The informative notices inside the territory of the museum have obviously been created in different periods of time, as there is no logic: some of the notices (descriptions, etc.) are only in the Latvian and English languages, some other – in the Latvian, English and German languages, whereas the newest informative texts at the front door of each historic building can be read in Latvian, English and Russian. In many places there are no informative signs or notices at all (they have obviously been removed in order to change). It must be mentioned that symbols are also used for customers’ information (smoking is prohibited, dogs are not allowed, etc.) The staff are kind and responsive, the foreign language knowledge is different.
Conclusions after visiting the Open Air Museum: the accessibility of information of reaching the museum is satisfactory, however the museum does not have a unified concept about supplying information in foreign languages, so the situation can be assessed as partially satisfactory.
Jūrmala
The following destination is Jūrmala. Before going there a foreign tourist should clarify the details of the journey in a hotel or a Tourist information centre, as an idividual journey may be rather complicated due to several reasons: the official Latvia’s tourism portal does not indicate the most convenient means of transport for a journey to Jūrmala, and this information must be found separately (Visit Europe, 2010; Rīgas satiksme, 2010); in addition, a tourist may find it confusing that “Jūrmala” does not mean one particular destination; in reality the city consists of 12 separate seaside villages (their names also carry the train stations). It is important to find out beforehand, to which of the villages the tourist is willing to go, – which village is quieter, which is more lively, with entertainment, shopping facilities, etc. The most frequently selected destination is Majori.
After getting to know the best means of transport, which is a train, the tourist goes to the Central train terminal. Here surprisingly little information can be found in foreign languages: almost all notices and informative signboards are only in the Latvian language, – also next to the international ticket offices and train schedules. As an exception the scheme of the Passengers’ transport route that has been translated into English, as well as the Reminder – regulations (visas, etc.) that has a translation in Russian, must be mentioned. The building of the Central train terminal has also an Information centre (the notice is rather inconspicuous and is difficult to find), yet it is not a Tourist information centre, but a Railroad information centre, where foreign tourists can find more information about train traffic. At this moment just three tourist information centres are operating: two of them are located in the Old Riga (Town square and Livu square), and one more in Riga International bus terminal.
In Central train terminal the only piece of written information where a tourist must go in order to get to Jūrmala is an inconspicuous notice in the Latvian language near the entrance to the train platform.
After getting off in Majori the situation becomes comparatively simple, as the sea is near the train station, but all shops, cafes and entertainment facilities are located compact, and the information is comprehensible.
The amount of information in foreign languages that is necessary for an individual tourist in order to travel to Jūrmala can be assessed as partially unsatisfactory.
Rundale castle
Rundale castle is the next destination. It is one of the most famous tourist attractions (Latvia. The most popular tourist destinations, 2010), so it has been mentioned on the front page of Latvia’s tourism portal (Kurp doties, 2010; Visit Europe, 2010). In the beginning it must be mentioned that there are no instructions how to get there. The most comfortable way is to go there together with an organized group of tourists, and an individual traveller may join such a group. Yet there is a possibility to go to the castle individually. This option should be considered in tourist information centres.
The main tourist information centre, as it was previously mentioned, is located in Old Riga, on the premises of Melngalvju nams (the Blackheads’ house). The employees of this centre explain that most tourists who are willing to travel individually to Rundale castle, come from Germany, and more seldom – from Russia. It is possible to obtain information in the information centre about the public transport that takes a tourist to Rundale castle.
First of all a tourist travels to Bauska. In Riga Central bus terminal unlike the Central train terminal a lot more information is available in foreign languages (at least English and Russian), it is comprehensible and visual. The bus traffic to Bauska is frequent and regular.
In Bauska bus station the situation is different: all informative notices and signs are only in the Latvian language, moreover, the employees of the bus station are not capable of communicating in any foreign language (except for Russian), which means that a foreign tourist should collect detailed information beforehand what to do and where to go to be able to get to Pilsrundale.
The main information stand meant for tourists, that gives information about the castle and its history, is available in all four languages, whereas the other stand that is located on the tourists’ walk, with the scheme of the castle and its park, is only in the Latvian and English languages. This is incomprehensible, as historically the castle was tied particularly with the Russians and the Germans.
After visiting Rundale castle a conclusion can be made that for a foreign individual tourist it is more comfortable to join a group of tourists and travel under the guidance of a qualified guide, otherwise the tourist may face different obstacles and inconveniences, so the accessibility of information from a foreign language perspective can be assessed only as partially satisfactory.
The author of the research clarified and evaluated the accessibility of Riga (and Latvia) to an individual tourist from a foreign language perspective. So far identic research has not been done, yet in 2003 a research was done “Information of Latvia Tourism in the Internet: Evaluations and Comparisons” (Bērziņa, Blunavs, Ozols, 2003), where it was proved that in informative materials the most important target group languages are not used: neither German, Finnish, Russian, nor the Lithuanian and Estonian languages.
There is a study “The Explanations of Tourism terminology: its structural logical system” (Rozīte, 2003), where attention has been paid to the fact that the English language has a dominance in the International tourism both among tourists as well as professionals, and there is a very insignificant other languages’ proportion – in electronic and other means of communication, as well as in publishing professional and applied literature; textbooks and magazines.
There is a similar study (to the author’s study) in 2009 in Vilnius (Ryvityte, Lukošiūte, 2009), where it was proved that the Lithanian language is dominant in informative signs and notices in Lithuania. The next most frequently used language is English, – the same thesis has been certified in the author’s work, – related to foreign language use in Riga and Latvia. In some cases signs and notices in the streets of Vilnius are in other languages too French, Swedish, Polish, Turkish, however it must be added that these notices are basically connected with foreign embassies.
This situation is in contrast with the research that was done in other European countries (Austria, Great Britain, Italy, Bulgaria) (Rosss, 1997; Schlick, 2002; Schlick, 2003; Griffin, 2001; Griffin, 2004), where the English language dominates, yet the principle of multilanguage use has partially been observed, as information in shops and stores is offered in the local native language, too.
As for foreign language use, research is being done by the students of Modern language faculty of the University of Latvia under the guidance of the professor Ingrida Kramina, – the basic topic that is being discussed is the inadequate food names’ translations in various public catering enterprises. The results of the research have been presented in conferences, yet there are no generalized publications accessible to public.
As the result of the observations, after visiting the above mentioned destinations and attractions in Riga and Latvia, the author made the following conclusions: for a foreign tourist who has decided to visit Lativa individually, the amount of visual information in foreign languages is insufficient and therefore partially unsatisfactory, and in several tourist attractions it is even unsatisfactory. The informative signs and notices have most frequently been translated into English, considerably more seldom into the Russian, and very seldom – in the German languages.
It means that there is no unified concept in the issue of supplying translations in foreign languages, and is in sharp contrast with the fact that particularly Russia and Germany belong to the high prior target market group, and the translations in these languages should be supplied first.
The foreign language knowledge of the staff employed both in tourist attractions and terminals, stations and public transport must be assessed as unsatisfactory.
After making conclusions the author has prepared the following suggestion.
A foreign tourist who has decided to visit Latvia individually should prepare for this journey beforehand: collect maximum information from different Internet home pages meant for tourists, in addition, while being in Latvia, should consult Tourism information centres and/or hotel staff.
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