Trips of the Tongue: Language Tourism in Barcelona

This article reports on inbound language tourism in Barcelona (Spain) as a result of a research project conducted at CETT-UB School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy. The language tourism providers operating in Barcelona were identified, the services they offer were pinpointed, the language tourists' profile was examined, the effect of accommodation on the relationship between language tourists and the host community was studied, and the influence of language tourists in the local community members they interacted with was analysed. In order to achieve these objectives, an exploratory research was designed with a qualitative approach mainly based on in-depth interviews with local residents and language tourism providers. According to the main outcomes, Barcelona has a varied language tourism offer provided by third party exchange providers, language tourism agencies, language schools and higher education institutions. Language tourists' favourite accommodation option is usually shared apartments so as to be more independent rather than staying with host families, which would allow them to integrate better and learn more Spanish. Their main motivation for choosing Barcelona as their academic destination is the city itself and its attractions.