Article Summary
- In the job market, multilingual hospitality workers are in demand as they may be offered job opportunities that are not open to others.
- Aside from English and French, other languages like Spanish, Russian, and Mandarin are among the most useful languages to learn nowadays for hospitality and business.
- For example, there are cities in Asia that host numerous international conferences, exhibitions, and forums and are growing to become business hubs; hence, knowledge of Mandarin is essential.
Multilingual individuals are in high demand in the hospitality industry because they have employment prospects that are not available to others. Speaking and learning these foreign languages has always been an added advantage to a person’s resume and has provided jobs in international settings in addition to providing access to other cultures and countries.
Asides English and French, languages to learn nowadays for hospitality and business include Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian.
The hospitality industry, which is driven by international clientele, requires personnel who are bilingual and culturally aware. As a result, knowing more than one language increases one’s marketability, and being culturally acceptable is a huge benefit when dealing with overseas clientele.
Spanish
Spanish is one of the United Nations’ six official languages. Spanish-speaking countries have strong economic potential, as the Latin American market has massive purchasing power that is constantly increasing.
Spain and Latin America are among the most popular travel destinations, and knowing the language is essential for communicating with locals or working in the hospitality business in those countries.
Spanish films, songs, and books are among the most popular in the world today. Another significant advantage of Spanish is that many people believe it is not a difficult language to learn. Furthermore, it can facilitate learning other languages like French, Italian, or Portuguese.
The language is widely spoken in these countries:
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Spain
- Uruguay
- Dependent territory of Puerto Rico
- Spanish has significant minorities in Andorra, Belize, Gibraltar, and the United States
Russian
Russian language is the eighth most spoken language in the world, with around 156 million people speaking it as their mother tongue and another 60 million speaking it as a second language.
It was recently voted the second most popular language on the internet, and it is one of the United Nations’ six official languages.
There is also a sizable Russian-speaking population in Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, China, the United States, and Israel.
Also, with Russia’s geographical location between Europe and Asia, the Russian language appears to be the best common denominator for inter-ethnic dialogue in Eastern Europe as well as economic exchanges among nations where it is spoken.
There is also a notable contingent of Russian-speakers in Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, China, the United States, and Israel.
Russian is one of the official languages in:
- Russia
- Bielorussia
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan
It is a widely spoken language or one of the languages spoken by minorities in:
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
- Azerbaïdjan
- Moldova
- Armenia
- Georgia
- Ukraine
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
For example, in Kazakhstan, where Russian is one of the official languages, there is a rapidly growing international tourism market. Cities such as Almaty or Nur-Sultan host numerous international conferences, exhibitions, and forums.
The country has the ambition to become a business hub in central Asia due to its rapidly developing tourism, business markets, and geographic situation.
Mandarin
Mandarin is one of the six official languages of the UN. Around one billion people speak Mandarin as their first language, which makes it the most widely spoken language in the world.
The fact that speaking Mandarin enables you to communicate with more than a billion people worldwide makes this language worth learning.
Mandarin is one of the most required languages in the tourist sector due to the high numbers of tourists from Asian countries. It makes traveling in Asian countries much easier.
It is an official language in China, Singapore, and Taiwan and has a recognised minority in Malaysia.
As China is still considered an emerging global power and language of commerce, many multinational companies are increasingly searching for Chinese speakers.
The language opens doors to many career opportunities and higher paying jobs and is one of the top three languages used by internet users.
To sum up, learning a new language helps improve memory, multitasking, and general performance in other academic areas by keeping the neurons fresh and active in the brain.
