SDL creates travel sector language translation platform to engage the ‘silent traveller’

Website translation specialist SDL has established industry specific platforms for eight sectors including Travel and Hospitality.

Website translation specialist SDL has established industry specific platforms for eight sectors including Travel and Hospitality.

The Anglo-US firm, which counts GTA, Kuoni, Best Western, Accor and Thomas Cook among its travel customers says the new platforms will help it cater for specific industry needs.

Kirsty Waller, vice-president marketing for language at SDL, said that travel firms increasingly have to make sure they communicate with their customers in the right way.

She said that in travel, the rise of the ‘silent consumer’ who never talk to a human being throughout the purchase process, means language translation is critical.

And she said the increasing proliferation of customer reviews also means companies need to translate ever increasing volumes of content.

“Having local language content available for today’s ‘silent traveller’ is increasingly important so they can engage.

“That’s one reason why we are seeing travel companies really prioritising language. They want to connect with consumers and travellers.

“In the past they would have local agencies to do that. But today you have consumers who are no longer going in to travel agencies and are doing everything online.

“The second big trend is most travel portals and websites provide the ability to leave feedback and that information can be left in multiple languages.

“We are providing the ability for consumers to communicate with each other rather than directly with the brand. Machine translation is a fantastic way to do that.”

Waller warned machine translation was not a replacement for human translation but an addition that can deal with the huge volumes of content travel firms are dealing with.

“There simply is not enough translators in the world to translate all that information and they can’t do it in the timescales needed,” she added.

The SDL language services allow firms to manage their translation services so that processes can be tailored according to customer expectations.

Brand communications and press releases will require a higher level of sign off to information required to appear quickly on websites in real time.

Waller said SDL’s experience of working with travel industry clients means its translation services has been built on industry best practice and is constantly updated.

Jean-François Collignon, experts and quality unit director at hotel chain Accor, said: “With the travel and hospitality industry becoming increasingly digital, we required a translation solution to deliver a high volume of content to customers across the globe in a timely and accurate manner.

“With SDL, we have eliminated the internal complexities related to comprehensive localisation processes while also enhancing the customer experience with immediate, relevant content.”

Waller said that travel was a growing sector for SDL and one in which there was little in-house expertise.

And she said: “Globalisation and localisation is not just about language, your systems themselves need to be set up in a way that they can efficiently deal with multiple language content.

“Then can they also understand where travelers are coming from and make sure that they are displaying and serving up the right information depending not just on local, cultural and language requirements but where they are in their journey.”

As well as Travel and Hospitality, SDL has established industry specific platforms for the Finance, Life Sciences, Global Marketing, IT & Software, Manufacturing, E-commerce and Consumer Electronics sectors.

The language platforms are an extension to the language pillar of SDL’s Customer Experience Cloud (CXC) which customers use to support global customer experiences.

Each industry language platform provides a tailored solution including:

• Pre-defined translation workflows that deal with the most common content types of each industry and the associated review and security issues with each.

• Industry specific automated translation that has been individually customised to each market allowing for greater automation of translation and a greater level of engagement with international audiences.

• Industry specific terminology pre-populated with common industry vocabulary which ensures organisations are speaking in a language that their customers will relate to and understand.

• Specialised translation services, in-country domain expert translators, providing translation for complex subject matters and including solutions for written communication, multimedia, international SEO, product testing and quality evaluation.

• Customer Journey Analytics that help to track international brand health, campaign and product launch effectiveness and global market opportunities.