The Journey not the Arrival Matters: Developing Intercultural Awareness and Communication Skills in Tourism Education1

Abstract

Tourism professionals’ linguistic and intercultural skills have been identified as pivotal assets towards upgrading the quality of the service they provide and contributing to successful communication and intercultural dialogue. This paper aims to shed light on skills-based tourism education, centred in real-world problem-solving tasks, within the scope of teaching/learning English as a foreign language for tourism purposes. It will specifically focus on the methodologies adopted in the subject of English IV in the Tourism Management and Leisure Management and Tourism Entertainment undergraduate degrees at the Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, in Portugal, whose syllabus introduces the relationship between tourism and culture, encourages the reflection on the concepts of cultural representations and stereotypes, and emphasises the need for tourism professionals to be aware of cultural differences, enabling them to relate with worldwide business partners and tourists in more respectful ways.