Notes from the travel trail as I make my way through Paris, Prague and several German cities...
Most of us use travel to rest the brain - these 2 weeks after the Chicago tour are keeping mine active as I go through the 'tourist as consumer' experience.
There's a well-known saying that 'the uncertain mind says No', and I've had lots of personal examples. If I was a traveller with limited English travelling in Australia, the US, UK etc, I'm sure these helpful features would help me say Yes more often:
More than just Menus in the window. It may be obvious that you do Greek food or fast coffees. If not, a short explanation about your food or menu style will be appreciated. Explanations of how payment is made may also help.
Signify staff who speak another language. Airlines reward and show staff with other languages - why don't bars and restaurants? A small flag on name tags is easy to organise.
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Welcome Signs & Menu Translations. Google Translate will automatically translate documents into good-enough versions in different languages. It won't be exact, but your Japanese or Italian visitors will appreciate the effort and courtesy. A short note at the end can ask them to suggest corrections - it brings them in on the joke if something reads a litle strangely!
Share local recommendations. Everyone likes to know where the locals go - have 3 or 4 places to recommend to obvious visitors eg a short walk after a meal, a good area for shopping or a great view.
Offer maps and directions. Your local tourist group will have brochures, or do up your own using online resources. Make sure staff know how to use them to point out the post office, train stations etc.
Sell stamps for postcards. Writing is not a lost art, but finding the post office is now a priority when travelling! Make it easy by offering a free souvenir postcard and stamps at cost, and organise the postage.
Offer modern, low-cost souvenirs. It's a feature of many restaurants in the US - keep the cost low so you have hundreds of people wearing your t-shirt as a walking billboards. Find a way to incorporate the web address in the design.
Offer free or low-cost wireless internet. This brought me back to several places over and over, not just for the web access but also for coffee and food. Tourists and locals love this - why do so many places still resist!?
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