Key English Vocabulary for Tourism & Hospitality
Tourism & Hospitality Essentials
Event & Tourism Management Actions
- Events: organize/arrange
- Emergencies: handle/deal with
- Room Occupancy: maximize/boost
- Tours: book/organize
- Staff: supervise/join
- Individual Holidays: book/arrange
Types of Tourism
Leisure Tourism Categories
- Holidays
- Health and Fitness
- Sporting Events
- Education and Training
- Culture and Religion
Business Tourism Categories
- Professional Meetings
- Exhibitions and Trade Fairs
- Conferences and Conventions
- Incentive Travel
Hotel & Travel Facilities
Hotel Amenities
- Wheelchair Access: (acceso para discapacitados)
- Health or Fitness Facilities
- Credit Cards Accepted
- Rooms for more than 2 people
- Pets Welcome
- Air Conditioning
- Swimming Pool
- Business Facilities
- Children’s Facilities
- Cloakroom
- Live Entertainment
Conference & Convention Elements
Places
- Auditorium
- Display Area
- Meeting Rooms
Equipment
- OHP (Overhead Projector)
- Flip Chart
Catering
- Buffet
- À la Carte
- Luncheon
- Banquet
- Beverages
- Refreshments
Tour Operations & Holiday Types
Tour Operator Terminology
- Reservation Agents: someone who books holidays for people
- E-commerce: selling goods and services on the internet
- Tailor-made Holidays: tour package designed for a single client
- Expansion: growth
- Downside: disadvantage
- Merger: (fusionar) when two companies join to become one
- Takeover: (hacerse con otra) when one company buys another
- Independent Concern: single company
Package Holiday Components
Types of Holiday
- Cruise
- All-inclusive
- Honeymoon
- Mini-break
- Adventure
- Winter Sports
Accommodation
- Inn: (hostal)
- Lodge: (cabaña)
- Guest House: (pensión)
- Villa: (chalet)
- Hotel
Transportation
- Luxury Coach: (autobús de lujo)
- Scheduled Flight: (vuelo regular)
- Charter Flight:
Ancillary Services
- Foreign Exchange
- Lift Pass
- Transfer: (trasbordo)
- Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Equipment Hire
Ecotourism Concepts
- Ecotourism: environmentally-friendly tourism
- Rubbish: (basura) things that have been thrown away
- Expedition: long journey to a dangerous place
- Conservationist: person who tries to protect the environment
- Resort: place where people often go for holidays
- Ecosystem: the conditions that plants and animals live in
- Environment: how all plants and animals relate to each other
- Jungle: thick tropical forest with a lot of vegetation
Hotel Check-in & Business Terms
- Upgrade: improve the category of something
- Upsell: (sobreventa)
- Guest Registration:
- Available: free or vacant
- Availability: number of rooms that are free
- Corporate Rate: (descuentos)
Winter Holiday Equipment
- Drag Lift: (cable que arrastra)
- Chairlift: (telesilla)
- Bindings: (correa)
- Boots: (botas de nieve)
- Poles: (bastones)
- Goggles: (gafas)
- Helmet: (casco)
- Gloves: (guantes)
- Ski Pass: (pase de subida)
Vocabulary & Descriptive Language
General Vocabulary & Antonyms
- Wildlife: fauna
- Wide: (ancho) – restricted
- Live: – recorded
- Life-size: – gigantic
- State-of-the-art: – old-fashioned
- Ornate: – plain (sencillo)
Descriptive Adjectives
- Stunning: (spectacular) – extremely attractive
- Impeccable: – perfect
- Spectacular: – very impressive and exciting
- Bright: – very light
- Luxurious: – extremely comfortable
- Opulent: – highly decorated
- Charming: – attractive and nice
Word Families for Describing People
Noun, Adjective, Verb
- Motivation: motivating, motivate
- Charm: charming, charm
- Excellence: excellent, excel
- Enthusiasm: enthusiastic, enthuse
- Fulfillment: fulfilling, fulfill
- Pleasure: pleasurable, please
- Success: successful, succeed
- Variety: various, vary
Climate & Transport Vocabulary
Climate
- Frozen
- Warm
- Humid
- Chilly
Transport
- Cab
- Tram
- Underground
Entertainment Venues & Activities
Entertainment Venues
- Show
- Nightclub
- Concert Hall
Entertainment Activities
- Demonstration: explanation to show how to use or do something
- Exhibition: public display of products or works of art
- Show: entertainment at a theatre or on TV
- Arts and Crafts: products made by hand
- Race: game to see who is the fastest
- Competition: event in which people try to be the best at something
- Quiz: game of questions to find out who knows the most
- Live Band: musical group that are playing in public
Places of Interest & Definitions
Places of Interest Categories
- Religious Buildings: temple, cathedral, mosque
- Historic Buildings: palace, castle, tower
- Places of Natural Beauty: glacier, canyon, gorge: (garganta)
Definitions of Places
- Canyon: deep valley with very steep sides of rock
- Palace: large house built for a royal family
- Cathedral: very large church
- Festival: special time for celebration and ceremonies
- Valley: lowland between lines of hills or mountains
- Monastery: place where monks live
- Stately Home: large house in the countryside
- Volcano: large mountain with a hole in the top
Exhibition & Museum Terms
- Museum:
- Armour: (armadura)
- Arrowheads: (punta de flecha)
- Landscapes: (paisaje)
- Canvas: (lienzo)
- Shields: (escudo)
- Sketches: (boceto)
- Statues
- Watercolours: (acuarela)
- Portraits: (retrato)
- Settle the Bill: (pagar)
- Charge: (cobrar)
Miscellaneous Vocabulary
- Gadget: small, clever machine
- Handset: (auriculares) part of a telephone that you hold
- Overstock: (sobrecargado)
- Appliances: (aparato)
- Astray: (ceniceros)
- Notice Faded: (corcho)
- Floor and Wall Tiles: (azulejos)
- Cracked and Stained: (agrietado y manchado)
Medical Equipment
- Tweezers: (pinzas de depilar)
- Plasters: (tiritas)
- Bandage: (vendaje)
- Antiseptic Cream: (crema antiséptica)
- Sunblock:
- Pocketknife: (navaja)
Professional Communication & Language Skills
Cover Letter Phrases
- I am writing with reference to…
- Please find enclosed…
- I have experience of…
- I am confident…
- I am available…
- I look forward to hearing from you.
Letter of Apology Phrases
- Thanking the person for bringing the matter to your attention:
- Thank you for bringing the matter to our attention.
- We are very sorry to hear that…
- We apologize for…
- Please accept our apologies for…
- Please be assured that we will…
- We value your custom highly.
- Your satisfaction is our priority.
- Please find enclosed a voucher for…
- Explaining what happened:
- There seems to have been a problem/a mix-up.
- There’s been a misunderstanding.
- What seems to have happened is that…
- Explaining what action will be taken and how soon:
- We’ll look into the matter and…
- I’ll see to it straightaway.
- I suggest that we…
Replying to Requests Phrases
- Thank you for your recent request.
- I am pleased to enclose…
- Included in the price…
- 100 euros off the brochure price.
- There is current availability (todavía hay plazas).
- Make the necessary arrangements.
- Please do not hesitate to contact us.
- Yours sincerely.
Question Formation Practice
- Statement: I’m from Scotland originally.
Question: Where are you from? - Statement: I saw the advertisement in the Travel Trade.
Question: How did you find the advertisement? - Statement: At the moment I’m working as a tour guide.
Question: What are you doing at the moment? - Statement: I lived in Rome.
Question: Where did you live before? - Statement: I go back there two or three times a year.
Question: How often do you go to Rome? - Statement: Any kind of job that allows me to use my skills.
Question: What kind of job are you looking for? - Statement: Yes, Spanish and Italian.
Question: Do you speak any other languages? - Statement: As soon as possible.
Question: When would you like to start?
Tourism Alphabet Quiz
- A) Places to stay, hotels, guest houses: Accommodation
- C) Activity of providing food and drink: Catering
- D) The central business district of a city: Downtown
- E) Activities that amuse or interest people: Entertainment
- F) Rooms, equipment or services: Facilities
- G) Another word for tip: Gratuity
- H) A holiday for a newly-married couple: Honeymoon
- I) List of places to be visited on a trip: Itinerary
- J) Travel from one place to another: Journey
- L) The adjective from luxury: Luxurious
- M) The opposite of old-fashioned: Modern
- N) Place of entertainment late at night: Nightclub
- O) Extra paid work: Overtime
- P) Holiday including transport and accommodation: Package Holidays
- Q) How good or bad something is: Quality
- R) Repairs and improvements to the hotel: Renovation
Time Expressions
- Have a nice/good/bad time: Pasarlo bien
- At any one time/at any given time: en un momento determinado
- The right/wrong time to do something: el momento adecuado
- Take your time: tómate tu tiempo
- Dead on time: puntualísimo
- Run out of time: no tener tiempo
- In good time: con tiempo de sobra
- In time: a tiempo
Giving Directions
- Go Left: (izquierda)
- Go Right: (derecha)
- Go Straight On: (de frente)
- Go Upstairs: (sube escaleras)
- Go Downstairs: (baja escaleras)
US vs. UK English Vocabulary
- Flashlight: Torch
- Pants: Trousers
- Running Shoes: Trainers
- Rainjacket: Anorak
- Jogging Suit: Tracksuit