engleski

Digital communication and multilingual practices in four tourism enterprises of the Zadar region

Tourists from all around the world choose Croatia as their travel destination during the summer months, but even after the peak of the tourist season, many diverse languages can be heard along the streets of Zadar. Located in northern Dalmatia at the Adriatic coast, Zadar becomes a center where various cultures meet, attracted by its rich historical and cultural heritage. That is a result of globalized processes caused by an easier mobility of people which makes contact between different cultures a common thing. These globalized processes have also had a great impact on the tourism industry creating an increased need for staff with multilingual repertoires because “[t]he knowledge of foreign languages has evidently the key role in the development of tourism which has a multiple role and is viewed as economic, social and cultural activity” (Sindik & Božinović, 2013). In order to maintain their competitive position in the global market, Croatian tourism enterprises have been forced to adapt to those multilingual requirements. This study aims to investigate how four tourism enterprises situated in the region of Zadar, two hotels and two campsites, use multilingual digital communication to attract potential visitors and the ways in which they cope with the ever-growing need for multilingual repertoires of their staff. Therefore, the main question is whether the companies' practices online are multilingual or not because “as the web becomes more globalized, it is giving rise to more opportunities for multilingual encounters which were not possible in face-to-face contexts” (Barton & Lee, 2017). The study is divided into three parts. First, the channels of digital communication used by the investigated enterprises, such as their official websites and social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter), are analyzed and compared. Their presence on these social media platforms allows them to reach geographically remote potential clients, making them important because they provide insight into their language practices. This part will shed some light on the number and kind of languages predominant in creating a tourist digital identity, similar to the study by Barton and Lee (2011) who collected data about the overall distribution of English and other languages on Flickr. It is hypothesized that the English language will be used predominately, although the investigated enterprises operate in a country where English is not an official language. Second, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with members of the front-desk staff of all four establishments. The interviews shall provide a valuable insight into their linguistic repertoires and digital competence, the multilingual surrounding they work in, and the companies‘ views on the (un)importance of multilingual repertoires. Special attention will be given to the staff’s digital communication through electronic mail. Third, since tourism is all about using and providing services, it is extremely important to take into account the customers‘ view on the multilingual practices within the investigated establishments. Thus, customers‘ perspectives on companies‘ language use and proficiency during their stay or through their digital communication will be gathered and analyzed. The data will be collected from customers‘ reviews on Tripadvisor. The expected contribution of the research is to describe the presence of multilingual practices in digital communication in Croatian regions that benefit from the tourism industry. Furthermore, the impact of globalization on a relatively small country which results in cultural contact, and the necessity for adaptation to cultural diversity is highlighted. Indeed, intercultural and communicative language ability plays a significant role in today’s multicultural business environment. If acknowledged and incorporated with the thriving potential of digital communication, in addition to the successful development of intercultural dialogue, it could put aside cultural and linguistic differences between tourists and natives.

višejezičnost, turizam, jezične prakse, digitalna komunikacija

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