This book examines what happens when tourists learn to speak other languages. From ordering a coffee to following directions the author argues for a new perception of the relationship between tourism and languages from one based on the acquisition of basic, functional skills to one which sustains and even strengthens intercultural dialogue.

Alison Phipps holds the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow, where she is also professor of languages and intercultural studies and co-convener of Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network (GRAMNET).