e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 96 Novriyanto Napu Universitas Negeri Gorontalo Rhafiq T. Ngiu Gorontalo Tourist Guide Community Tourists’ Perceptions of the Translation Quality of Indonesian Tourism Brochures An increasing number of foreign tourists who visit Indonesia, especially Gorontalo (an emerging regional destination), has increased tourist brochures' importance. Brochures are produced in multiple languages, and translation plays a crucial role in delivering the intent and purpose of the brochures to potential readers. The present study investigates the opinions of target readers regarding the text and content. Qualitative methods were used, and participants were asked to read tourism brochures and complete a survey with questions related to the content of the brochures, particularly the English translation. The findings reveal both positive and negative readers’ responses regarding the quality of the brochures. Regarding non- linguistic aspects, design and layout were most attractive to the readers. Regarding English translation, grammatical errors prevented tourists from understanding the brochures, thus undermining the text's function as promotional material. Keywords: tourism brochures, English translation, translation quality, tourists’ perception Novriyanto Napu Department of English Language Education Faculty of Letters and Cultures Universitas Negeri Gorontalo Jl. Jend. Sudirman No. 6 Kota Gorontalo Indonesia Phone: [62] 821 8868 4477 Email: n.napu@ung.ac.id Rhafiq T. Ngiu Gorontalo Tourist Guide Community Kota Gorontalo Indonesia Phone: [62] 823 4553 4162 Email: rhafiq_s1sastrainggris2014@mahasiswa.ung.ac.id Novriyanto Napu is a senior lecturer in English Language and Translation at the Department of English Language Education of Universitas Negeri Gorontalo, Indonesia. He received his PhD from the university of South Australia. His main research interests focus on translation studies particularly in the area of translation and tourism. http://ertr.tamu.edu/ mailto:n.napu@ung.ac.id mailto:rhafiq_s1sastrainggris2014@mahasiswa.ung.ac.id e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 97 Rhafiq T. Ngiu studied English language education at the Department of English Language Education of Universitas Negeri Gorontalo. He is an active member of Gorontalo Tourist Guide community in which he promotes tourist destinations in Gorontalo to overseas visitors. Introduction Language in tourism is essential in creating a positive perspective on a tourist destination (Dastjerdi & Abdolmaleki, 2012). Hence, language can help make tourists interested in visiting the tourism place. There will be complaints against the tourism language used in promotional texts when tourists' expectations are not appropriate. Tourists have high expectations of the tourism places they will visit. Otherwise, tourists will contribute to tourism by being promoters when matching their expectations (Dann, 1996). Therefore, the language of tourism must be able to convey its function as a media campaign. The language of tourism used in tourist texts may impact the readers as potential tourists and their intention to visit a tourist destination. In other words, tourist texts play an important role as a bridge between tourist destinations and visitors, particularly those who come from overseas and do not share the same language and cultural knowledge as the locals. Dann (1996, p. 2) asserts that “the language of tourism attempts to persuade, lure, woo, and seduce millions of human beings, and in so doing, convert them from potential into actual clients.” By addressing them in terms of their culturally predicated needs and motivations, it hopes to push them out of the armchair and onto the plane – to turn them into tourists.” On the other hand, the language of tourism must send and illustrate the message about the tourism sites clearly in terms of attracting the target audiences to visit (Salim, Ibrahim & Hassan, 2012). Tourism promotion material has played an essential part in conveying information about tourism places of a particular tourist destination. Some tourism promotion media have been used by tourism industries to attract tourists, such as brochures, pamphlets, and booklets. Some of them are translated into English. It is paramount that the translation of the tourist texts should be adequate to achieve its purpose as tourism promotional media. To ensure this http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 98 happens, the translation should be professionally carried out by someone who is skilled in translating the text and understands the purpose of the texts as a tourism promotional text to ensure the quality of the translation (Muñoz, 2012). This study is aimed to investigate the target readers’ perception of the English translation of tourist texts produced by the regional tourism industry in Gorontalo, Indonesia. This study focuses on the translation product of tourist brochures. It investigates whether the English translation of the tourism brochures is adequate to convey its function as the promotional material to tourists. Context of the study and related works The tourism industry in Indonesia has become the nation's largest source of revenue. Through the Ministry of Tourism, the government has put a significant effort into boosting the industry by attracting more overseas visitors. Since 2016, the government has provided visa- free for more than 150 countries for tourism and business purposes. Gorontalo is one of the provinces in Indonesia, located on Sulawesi's island in the eastern part of Indonesia. It has become one of the emerging tourism industries in Indonesia. It has a diversity of cultures and also appealing tourist attractions that are still preserved. Therefore, there are quite a lot of domestic and foreign tourists coming to visit the city. The government has been working together with a private organization to provide tourist information with English translation for international promotion purposes. The use of translation has been widely applied in tourism industries. Many destinations, including Indonesia, have extensively translated its promotional materials, including brochures into English. Compared to online-based tourism information, printed tourism brochures have been the main form of tourism promotional materials produced by the local government and private tourism companies in Gorontalo and other developing tourism industries in Indonesia (Napu, 2016). The use of tourism brochures and translation is, in fact, mostly favored for http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 99 tourism promotional strategies (Agorni, 2012). This is especially true for those developing tourism industries, such as Gorontalo in which printed brochures are the only tourist information containing all detailed and specific tourist attractions in Gorontalo available to visitors. However, the question of quality arises when it comes to translation. Tourism translation has been widely criticized for its poor translation quality that often puts off potential visitors’ interest (Muñoz, 2012; Napu, 2016). Fuadi (2016) clarifies that, in translating a text, the translator must know the source text and the target text. By determining the translation quality, it can be seen if the translation has useful information for the target audience (Samuelsson-Brown, 2004). Also, it is an obligation for the translator to transfer the original text's aim to the target text to have an excellent translation (Rosyidah, Kharis, & Afifah, 2017). Some explanations stated earlier indicate that the translation quality has met the qualification when the purpose for the audience is appropriate. However, most of the previous studies about the translation quality of tourism brochures have only focused on textual analysis of comparing the source text and the translation. Other studies focus on examining the use of translation features, such as the techniques and strategies used in translating tourism brochures (e.g., Terestyényi 2011; Obeidat 2015; Zahiri, Sadeghi, & Maleki 2015; Younesi, Navidinia, & Ozhan 2018). However, the study on translation quality of tourism promotional materials from readers' perspectives has been under-researched. This study is important for improving translation quality in Indonesia, especially Gorontalo tourism brochures, to produce better quality brochures that can convey the function properly to the target reader. Research method This study investigates the target readers' responses towards the quality of English translation of tourism brochures. This is a way to find out whether the English translation of http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 100 Gorontalo tourism brochures is adequate to convey its function as the promotional material to tourists. In order to satisfy the objectives, a descriptive qualitative approach was used. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was designed to gather the information needed from the readers about the tourism brochures. There were four different bilingual brochures initially written in Indonesian and their English translation side-by-side, collected from different tourism information. Table 1. Source of Data Text Publisher Type Gorontalo City Map Communication & Information Transportation Office of Gorontalo Province Bilingual Tourism of Gorontalo City Gorontalo City Tourism Office Bilingual Wonderful Gorontalo Communication & Information Transportation Office of Gorontalo Province Bilingual Pesona Boalemo Tourism and Culture Office of Boalemo Regency Bilingual The participants in this study involved overseas visitors who speak English as an international language. The method of accidental sampling was used to develop the participant of the research under discussion. According to Sugiyono, 2001 (cited in Dahlan, 2015), accidental sampling is a coincidental sample determination technique. The person who accidentally meets the researcher can be used as a sample and considered the source of data for the study. The theory of accidental sampling by Sugiyono was used because it explains in detail what accidental sampling is and how to implement it. In the current study, the selected participants were based on the phenomenon under investigation. However, this study focused on participants who mastered English so that the responses that will be in the questionnaires are adequate. http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 101 The research data was collected by interviewing twelve foreign tourists from different countries. There were three foreign tourists from France, two foreign tourists from the United States of America, two foreign tourists from Germany, two foreign tourists from Taiwan, two foreign tourists from Switzerland, and one foreign tourist from the Netherlands. The participants were asked to read the bilingual brochures written in Indonesian and their English translations. Upon reading the texts, the participants were required to give their opinion about the tourism brochures' English translation. Three main questions were designed to examine to what extent the English translation of tourism brochures function as promotional materials that are able to attract readers’ interest. 1. Are the texts interesting? Why and why not? 2. Do the information in the text makes you interested in visiting the sites? Why and why not? 3. Do you think the English translation is clear and easy to understand? Why and why not? The readers' responses were then analyzed using content analysis method modified by Hsieh and Shannon (2005) to determine the theme and main ideas in the responses that show the evaluation about the translation quality of the brochures. This approach helped to examine the tourists' responses regarding the brochures' quality, especially the English translation. The researchers began by examining and reading the tourists' responses from the questionnaires carefully. In deriving the codes, the researchers highlighted some words or sentences in the questionnaires that showed the evaluation of the quality of the brochures that were given to the participants, using their words or sentences. Then, the researchers approached the text by making notes of the participants' impressions, thoughts, and initial analysis. Next, codes were sorted into categories based on how different codes were related and linked. After that, the http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 102 researchers drew the conclusion based on the opinion of the participants whether the brochures were able to deliver their function properly to the tourists or not. Findings and discussion In their responses to the questionnaires, the participants were asked to give Yes or No answers and their reasons. In this case, almost all participants provided more than one response. Therefore, the response's quantitative results will not be based on the number of participants, and only detailed responses to the four texts will be included for discussions. It is also important to mention that the discussion is of the general results for all texts. Texts Appeal The following section categorizes reader responses regarding whether or not the texts attract the tourist to come according to Question 1. The target readers' responses are examined in order to see whether or not the texts are interesting. The researcher examined the readers’ perspectives in four texts to see which text has better quality than other texts. Table 2. Readers’ reasons in response to Question 1: Are the text interesting? Why and why not? Response Reasons Total YES Appealing contents Interesting layout Language styles 37 6 2 NO Lengthy information Less informative 9 9 The findings in the table show that several participants were focused on non-linguistic features. Participants were concerned about the text’s appeal, description, and information and the layout of the pictures. Although this part does not reflect on the translation features, it should be emphasized that one of the components that make a brochure convey its function as a promotional medium is an eye-catching and compelling design. The readers claimed that texts have detailed information about the places. This implies that one of the crucial http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 103 components of an interesting brochure is that it is informative. Moreover, there is still a linguistic aspect that supports the brochure to attract the readers, i.e., the language styles. Appealing contents There are a large number of readers who agreed that the brochure is interesting for foreign tourists. About thirty-seven responses show that the brochures are appealing and eye- catching to foreign tourists. The readers’ responses also indicate that one of the aspects that make the text or brochure engaging is the brochure's information. Numerous readers responded that the brochure's information was good enough to attract tourists because the information provided was legible. 1. “The text is interesting because it describes the sites in detail” 2. “Yes, has an abundance of fun facts and key information” 3. “Yes, they are. They inform about what to do and see around Gorontalo” 4. “Yes because the information provided are interesting: the location, how to get there, what to see, what to do. Very precise” 5. “Yes, I especially find the events interesting. It also covers history basics well” Based on some of the readers' opinions above, it suggests that an interesting brochure is a brochure that must contain clear and detailed information. Less and unclear information will confuse the tourists in understanding the contents of the text. In this case, the texts were able to fulfill readers' needs in terms of accurate information about the tourist attractions to be visited. The words such as “interesting” and “good” indicate that information contained in the texts attracted them to visit the places. Moreover, the description of the texts could also increase the interest of readers to read the brochures. Based on the data above, it can be argued that all of the four texts can deliver the function very well. Previous sample responses show that attractive content was one of the most crucial aspects of grasping the readers’ interest. The readers were interested in the 'thinking http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 104 outside of the box' ideas applied. The results have indicated that the texts were adequate in terms of tourism promotional. This means that all four texts have successfully achieved their goals in order to attract tourists to visit. The use of well-ordered text can capture potential readers' interests and desires (Dann, 1996). Interesting layout Based on the target readers' evaluation, five responses claimed that an attractive brochure appearance was one of the critical points in producing an appealing brochure for tourists. Good picture selection is essential in promoting Gorontalo tourism sites. The sample readers’ responses can be listed as follows: 1. “Yes, but vivid images interest me the most” 2. “Yes, interesting text, good pictures” 3. “Yes, because the design of this text is colorful, it increases my interest to read it. However, I think pictures of these locations can be more” Thus, it can be deduced that enticing pictures and design are the crucial components in making a brochure a great tourism promotional medium. This can be seen from the responses such as “good pictures." Therefore, selecting good quality pictures will determine whether or not the brochures can attract the readers' interests to visit the tourism sites themselves: "…vivid images interest me the most”. The sample responses indicated that the readers still considered texts' appearance, i.e., the layout itself, to reach the function of promoting the sites. It is believed that a colorful appearance helps to make the readers interested to read the texts. However, the pictures provided in the texts were still not enough. One individual stated that the “pictures of these locations could be more." Language styles In translating a text, especially brochures, common and familiar language styles are the main components in establishing communication between text and readers. This can be shown http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 105 from the following sample of readers’ responses that indicate an interesting text, such as good language features, is an essential aspect of making the brochure attractive. 1. “The text are interesting. I like the phrases like “only found in the water of Sulawesi” 2. “The text is interesting, because it uses descriptive language” Two respondents gave a positive response related to language features used in the texts themselves. The word “interesting” may explain the relatively good relationship between the text and target readers. Moreover, the use of appropriate phrases and figurative words helped promote tourist attractions in the texts because usually, the readers will feel interested in reading the texts where the explanation is well illustrated. The response in quote 2 indicates that the brochures can be claimed to be operative and interesting texts if the brochures can connect to the readers. It shows that the texts contained writing that could make the reader interested in things that are read, such as “it uses descriptive language.” Also, the text's content can establish communication with the reader through language styles that the reader could understand. This implies that the reasons reinforce the theory. Lengthy information Although most readers stated that the texts could convey their function as promotional media, there were responses with the opposite thoughts. This is one of the problems found in the readers' responses. In this part, the readers explained that the texts' information is too long to make them not interested in reading the texts because basically brochure is a text that provides short, clear, and appropriate for its purpose. The readers found that one of the texts is verbose and tedious. This means that the information contained in the text hurt the messaging. Too many descriptions have caused the text to lose its appeal. These can be seen from the following quotes of each text below: 1. “No, it has too many words” http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 106 2. “The text is a bit wordy and should focus first on what makes these places exceptional and then discuss location” 3. “The texts is quite long (for the first one in particular) and too much time is spent on the location and more should know to highlight what makes these places special” 4. “No, way too much boring information” 5. “The text is very informative, but perhaps too long and includes a lot of unnecessary information” What is interesting in this data is that several readers stated that the texts failed to promote the sites. Too many descriptions were highlighted as a failure of the brochure as a promotional medium. The words such as “too many words," "bit wordy," and "quite long" indicate that the information in the texts tends to be diffusive. It has been understood that trying to cram too much information into a brochure can hurt its messaging. The responses above mark the brochures should not contain a long-winded explanation. Still, words such as “too much time is spent" and "boring information" point out that the texts' information made the readers bored and reluctant to read the brochures. The readers' responses suggest that the texts contain worthless information as was informed that the explanation in the brochure must be brief and clear. A superfluous explanation will make the readers leave the brochures. Less informative This part shows that there is still a small number of readers who have difficulty obtaining the brochures' information. Some of them stated that the texts could not help them to describe the objects in the brochures. This can be seen from the following sample responses: 1. “No, what is a Maleo? A bird? More information” 2. “Yes, but you should tell how to get there” 3. “Text gives overview of difficult sites to visit, but it is very confusing. Thought the add gives information about transport, but it does not” http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 107 4. “Yes, but important information are missing (i.e. when are the festivals, where, etc.)” 5. “The text is not very interesting because it does not describe the sites very well, it only tells how to get them” Since a brochure is a communication tool, it is important to know what the target readers expect. One of the interviewees alluded to the notion of the information provided in the texts. This intends to convey that the readers did not know various types of matters relating to tourism in Gorontalo: “what is a Maleo? A bird?”. From the words above, “more information” and “tell how to get there," the readers seemed to need more description about what has been put in the texts. Sometimes the readers could not get the obvious information regarding the history and location of the places “confusing” and “missing." Moreover, the information about the sites was not explained very well. It did not help the readers who had limited knowledge of the tourism sites to get information as many as possible. This is true that a brochure must deliver the underlying message in the right way. It should fulfill the target readers’ needs. A good brochure has compelling information. The elements must be designed around it. It is necessary to understand the target readers and send an accurate and clear message that will appeal to them because the entire brochure is built based on the message it carries. Efficiency of the Texts This section investigates the way the readers comprehend the efficiency of the brochures. Almost all of the readers concur that the text's information make the places are appealing, as shown in Table 2. On the other hand, a few readers claimed that the texts are not appropriate. Table 3. Readers’ reasons in response to Question 2: Do the information in the text makes you interested in visiting the sites? Why and why not? Response Reasons Total http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 108 YES Adequate description Interesting layout 24 7 NO Impractical 7 In response to this section, a range of responses was elicited. There is a significant difference between both results where most readers are concerned about the appearance of the texts, such as the layout and the places. The things that attract readers are the descriptions and pictures contained in the brochures. In contrast, the other readers’ responses were focused on the sites that appear in the brochure. The opposite responses show that there is a small number of readers who assert that the texts cannot deliver the function to readers. Adequate description This section discusses the explanation contained in all texts. The overall response to this part was very positive, 1. “Description is also interesting” 2. “Yes, the description makes me interested in visiting such places” 3. “Yes. The descriptive language makes the sites sound appealing” 4. “Yes, the text makes me want to visit the tourist sites because there are a lot of interesting adjectives to describe the sites” 5. “Yes, because the introduction is very clearly and briefly. I can know the location and what are in just few words” The sample responses above point that the texts created the readers’ interest and desire to read the texts as shown by the result to “interesting." Besides that, one of the reader's responses, such as "makes me want to visit the sites," showed that the texts effectively captured the potential tourists' interests. The texts have successfully grabbed another individual's attention, especially to the brochure's important points, as noted by the use of the term "appealing." This can be indicated as the texts' success in fulfilling the needs and wants of http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 109 target readers. These texts could make the readers interested enough to read further, thus increasing their desire for the object that the text offers and get them to take a specific action such as visiting the tourist sites in the texts. One participant illustrated this, "the text makes me want to visit the tourist sites." This shows that the message from the text is consistent and easy to understand. The readers had many references to tourist sites. It helped them in exploring and discovering the places easily. Also, readers could acquire all the needed information. Interesting layout The results in Table 3 indicate that a small number of readers (7 out of 12) were attracted to the layout, such as design and pictures. Here are some following sample responses from the readers regarding the appearance: 1. “Yes, I think the images are more interesting” 2. “Not really, but the pictures save the text” 3. “Yes, the text with images attracts me a lot” 4. “Pictures are nice, so you want to visit the sites” Few good responses claimed that the texts could draw the readers in with the pictures provided in the texts. Two responses indicated that the texts' designs are reader-friendly, so they attracted the readers more than the message: "the images are more interesting” and “pictures save the text." On the other hand, one respondent claimed that the pictures are appealing, "pictures are nice." The pictures have successfully persuaded the target readers to visit. In other words, the texts could increase their value and made them worth keeping. Impractical A small number of participants revealed that three out of four texts were useless. The participants complained about the lack of information in three texts, in which case most people would abandon trying to read through the piece, as in the following: http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 110 1. “No, need more information on travel time from Gorontalo Kota, and the cost involved in the trip” 2. “Information is more on sites location and how far they are from city. It doesn’t explain why you should go there” 3. “The text does not make me very interested to visit the sites because it primarily tells the location of the sites instead of describing them (history, what can you do, etc.)” 4. “Some of the descriptions are not clear for someone who is not local (e.g. what is a Maleo? I assume a bird, but it is not clear)” A single individual felt that the texts could not help potential readers provide specific information related to tourism activities, “need more information." Moreover, one reader did not get any exact information about what makes the sites special and interesting to be visited. Another reader who stressed that the reader would be more interested in visiting was an explanation about the history of the places to be visited and the benefits they would enjoy by visiting the tourist attractions instead of cramming too much information about the sites into the texts. At the same time, readers indicate that the texts seemed like they were designed only for the locals who have the same assumptions in having the texts' thoughts, while the texts were supposed to create for those readers who have limited knowledge about the places. This made the reader trapped in their assumptions without knowing exactly what information is: “not clear for someone who is not local”. To sum up, the result was quite good, as only a small number of participants claimed that the texts were not beneficial. It can be a perceptivity that having appropriate information was crucial to make the texts effective and professional. This also is extremely important to have complete information towards instigating action from the potential reader’s side. http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 111 However, some of the responses above can be used to evaluate that some of the texts still need to be improved a bit in terms of achieving perfection as a media campaign. Quality of the Texts In terms of promotion, the thing that must be considered is whether the information contained in the promotional text is clear and understood by the reader. This part consists of two sub-sections, where each of them examines the legibility and quality of the texts. In this case, the target reader played a role in determining whether or not the text's translation is qualified and appropriate. These will be classified in the table below. Table 4. Readers’ reasons in response to Question 3: Do you think the English translation is clear and easy to understand? Why and why not? Response Reasons Total YES Comprehensible English translation 36 NO Translation failures 30 The table shows that some readers can understand the texts. They stated that the information provided in the brochure was intelligible, even with less English translation quality. On the other hands, some of them had difficulty in comprehending the information contained in the text because the texts have a poor English translation. Translation mistakes from the text sometimes confused the readers. These will be discussed in the explanation below. These will be discussed in the explanation below. Comprehensible English translation The previous data show that the information of the texts still received a high number of positive responses. The readers could still understand the English translations in the texts enough to feel they received accurate information. The readers' responses in Table 4 show the texts effectively attract foreign tourists to visit the tourism places. Furthermore, the information that is provided in the texts was good. However, they acknowledged that there were English mistakes that contributed to making some readers understand the general meaning and information in the texts. Here are some sample responses were given by the readers: http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 112 1. “The English translation is clear and easy to understand” 2. “English is ok, because short sentences + easy language is used” 3. “Yes, because they use easy words to explain these locations. The visitors can understand these” 4. “Yes, the words give me the imagination of these places. Moreover, the pics are fabulous” 5. “The English is clear but there are noticeable translation mistakes, which make the text less trustworthy” 6. “Easy to understand but the English is not great” 7. “Although there are some English errors, I could understand the main idea and general information of the text” The words "easy" and "clear" proved that the texts' translations could reach the understanding of foreign audiences. This implies that the English translation worked effectively in the target market. The following statement “I can understand," implies that the contents of the brochure could balance technical terminology with readability in terms of translation. Moreover, it can be said that the translated message could come across, precisely as it intended: “easy language is used”, and “visitors can understand these”. It also helped the non-native English speakers perceived the purpose explained in the texts themselves. This also shows that the texts' contents are translated adequately to communicate the message and branding to the potential readers clearly. The translation created a great fantasy for the readers to make the tourism attractions that explained are more appealing. Although the English translation was explicit: “English is clear” and “easy to understand," but still, the audiences found several translation mistakes, which made the text less credible, "there are noticeable translation mistakes" and "English is not great." These imply that the translation was less useful in interpreting information to the target reader. Therefore, http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 113 it can be said that some readers could understand the English translation provided in all texts legibly. In comparison, other readers could only conceive the meaning in general, as there were several English translation mistakes found by the readers themselves. The readers reported that the matter had an impact on the texts in terms of legibility. This indicates that the target language of the texts was not interpreted professionally and adequately. It is believed that the information would not affect the targeted readers if they could not understand the translation. Translation failures Despite the clear texts, several readers stated that the texts' English translation needs to be improved. Some translation mistakes sometimes led the readers to confusion. The readers stated that the English translation of the brochure is still unclear. They had difficulty in comprehending the information contained in the text because the texts have poor English translation. Therefore, some of them could not get clear and complete information from the text. 1. “Translation is not so good I think, so I don’t understand everything” 2. “The sentences are not always clear and need to be reviewed by a native speaker or someone with good knowledge of the English language” 3. “Confusing, because sometimes words are missing (i.e. can be reached in less than ?? minutes)” 4. “Sometimes grammatical errors lead to confusion” 5. “Many grammar errors lead to confusion sometimes. Sometimes it is still clear” 6. “There are many grammar errors and errors in word choice in the text. However, I can understand the general meaning” The words such as “not so good” imply that the texts' information was ambiguous and deceptive. The myriad English mistakes identified in the texts ended up confusing the readers rather than serving their purposes of informing the readers, “I don’t understand everything” http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 114 and “not at all”. Moreover, the words, such as “completely wrong” and “way too long” indicate that the texts need more effort in terms of translation in order to get the readers’ interest. This also indicates that the English translation in the brochures was not impeccable. The readers acknowledged that although the information is understandable, the poor English translation has undermined the text's quality as promotional material. Clarity of English Translation This section is really important to investigate whether or not the readers can understand the products or the texts. It consists of four sub-sections that will show the legibility of the texts. Some responses indicate that the readers found difficulties in reading the texts, while the other responses show the opposite result, as shown in the table below. Table 5. Readers’ reasons in response to Question 4: Did you find anything difficult for you to understand the text? Why and why not? Response Reasons Total YES Poor Translation Information Inadequacy Layout Problem 23 3 5 NO Comprehensible 23 Several responses show that the English translation of the brochure is still unclear. It leads them to confusion in understanding the meaning. The readers had difficulties in understanding the texts well. This points that there are numerous mistakes found from the translation process from the source language to the target language, as shown from the table above that most of the readers claimed the problem involved in the text. Poor translation. Since Indonesians did the translation process in texts, no wonder some grammatical errors were found from the texts. From the previous results, it can be known that the translation of the texts has not been done professionally. The readers claimed that English translation is worse and unnatural. It is hard for them to understand the target language from the texts. http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 115 Several responses in the table above show that poor English translation took the readers into confusion. These issues are shown in the examples below from several of the target readers' responses: 1. “The left-up image in first page, “…, while laying enjoy the quietness …” I didn’t get it” 2. “The first page makes me confused, “One unique thing is the sea water around the island is very clear exceeds the pool …”” 3. “There are a few mistakes that might make the reader confused” 4. “Strange language usage such as “very beautiful isn’t it?”” 5. “Yes because the sentences never stop and it’s just not correct in terms of syntax (verbs missing, etc.). By far the worst of the 4 brochures” 6. “Not really, but I’m not sure I understand everything properly as the English is quite poor” 7. “The text is easy to understand, but is a bit unnatural and definitely has noticeable mistakes” 8. “Not difficult but as some verbs are missing, I sometimes had to read twice to understand properly” That some phrases that appeared in the texts were very complex to the reader, leading them to confusion: "I didn't get it," "makes me confused," and "make the reader confused." The words "strange language" show that there were several awkward words discovered in the texts' target language that unfolded readers' confusion. In contrast, another interviewee found errors related to the syntactic terms in the texts, "not correct in terms of syntax." This individual even revealed that this matter dramatically impacts the texts' quality limiting its usefulness as a promotional tool, "the worst of the four brochures." Also, the words "not really" can be seen as a failure in transferring the source language, i.e., Indonesian, to the target language, i.e., http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 116 English. This means that the texts were not too effortful to be understood by the target audience. However, the translation's poor quality resulted in challenges of readability of the texts, as shown in the sample statements: "I'm not sure I understand everything" and "English is quite poor." On the other hand, two readers could understand the text, "easy to understand" and "not difficult." However, sometimes the reader had problems in understanding the purpose of the text, "unnatural" and "noticeable mistakes," which sometimes caused the reader had to review the translation several times in order to get a clear explanation, "I sometimes had to read twice." This suggests that many audiences reported this as one of the things that constitute a problem for the texts towards becoming professional and perfect tools of tourism promotion. This is an indication that poor English translation will directly kill the quality of the text itself. Information inadequacy. Tourism brochures are crucial media for providing information on the tourism places such as the unique things regarding the places, the tourists' activity, and, most notably, the history. Brochures also have an immense potential for attracting potential tourists. This section discusses the lack of needed information in the texts, predominantly experienced through difficulties in getting the place information and location. A small number of readers claimed that the texts need more explanation and information regarding tourism sites. These can be seen in the following comments below: 1. “I would not say difficult, but the brochure could be improved by rethinking about what the “foreign” target audience wants to read, which I guess it what makes these places special/exceptional and why they would want to visit these?” 2. “It would be great to mention the distance for each location” 3. “Again, things need to be simplified and explained better (e.g. “cool seen eyes” I don’t understand what this is) and written for a foreign audience that has little local knowledge” http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 117 The above reader comment indicates that the texts' information needs to be corrected, "could be improved". The reader highlighted that the texts' message should be clear on the purpose and fulfil the readers' needs, "what the "foreign" target audience wants". Likewise, the reader asserts that the texts must put clear description and goal, together with detailed specifications and benefits that the readers can get, because it is essential to know what will make readers have benefited from using the texts themselves. It is also very important to know what should be explained in the tourism brochures. The words "would be great to mention the distance" indicates that detailed information will help the texts to convey their purposes as qualified tourism promotional texts that are able to wow and amaze the target readers in order to entice a very specific group of audiences. Whilst, the words "be simplified" means that the texts cramped too much unnecessary explanation that lost the readers' desires to read the texts. The other words, "explained better" show that the texts were supposed to have a good short overview that lets them get detailed. In addition, the reader's comment before means that the texts need to have relevant information effectively for those readers, especially foreigners who have less knowledge about the local objects. In conclusion, a few sample responses above show that this part was not a big problem for the readers to make them get interested in reading the texts. However, the three comments in every text are still needed to evaluate whether or not the texts' information can benefit the readers. Layout problem. While most of the readers agree that the brochure is effective, few of them deny it. The readers could not see what is written on the texts due to improper use of font size. They argued that the font size in the text makes it difficult for them to read the explanation. The font size problems caused difficulties in reading the text while in producing the brochures, it is important http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 118 to make sure the copy flows and is easy to read. Moreover, the font size problem affects the visual aspect of the texts, as can be viewed from the following sample responses. 1. “The text is too small to be read easily” 2. “I think the words can be bigger” 3. “The font changes in sizes too much and is sometimes too small” 4. “I think the text is ok, but I would rethink the document. I think a separate English “only” document would be more advisable here as it is already “too busy” in visual terms” The quotes above mostly discussed the problem of the font used in the texts. Few readers noticed this as an aspect that prevented them from understanding the texts. The word "small" means that a thick and bold font was suggested to make the message of the texts appear poignant. Moreover, the words "can be bigger" indicate that the importance of font-weight impacts the visual tone of the texts. This can be an implication that the words in the texts might be a little bit fuzzy. Additionally, the layout of pictures and writing was very disturbing to the reader, as the reader stated that the text's appearance looks busy and less appealing. This is to say that although only a few respondents stated that inappropriate layout, particularly font size, was one aspect that caused the readers difficult to get information in the text. This would be one of the considerations in the future. In creating tourism promotional media such as brochures, the authorities should think of appropriate font size for promotional text to visually enhance the text and emphasize specific points. Comprehensible On the other hand, some of the readers stated that they could still get the texts clearly. However, they propose that the English translations need to be reviewed by an English native speaker or a professional in English translation field. 1. “It’s clear enough” http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 119 2. “Nope, the typesetting is great, and I can understand it easily” 3. “No, even if there are some mistakes you can still understand” 4. “A little bit” It is a must to notice that familiar words or sentences could help the readers comprehend the meaning of the target language. Driven from the above statement, it can be summed up that the target readers can usually understand the context and translation of the texts. A different reader also came with the same positive response related to the translation of the texts. The terms "great" shows that the texts could astonish the readers so that it was easy for them to comprehend the message: "I can understand." Stem from the readers' perspectives, however, the mistakes are still identified by the readers themselves. Nonetheless, the translation results are understandable. Also, diving deeper into the texts' translation quality, the anomaly perspective regarding the comprehension is manifested in that the respondent found a bit problem in terms of readability: "a little bit." From that comment, it can be averted that the translation quality of the texts being given is sufficient though at the same time. However, from all the above responses regarding the comprehension of the texts, the texts themselves are as yet graspable so far. In summary, the current result found that most of the texts were highly efficient. Quite a few readers agreed that almost all four texts could reach the target concerning its legibility. On the flip side, there were still mistakes found in connection to the texts' grammar level and layout that preclude the readers from attaining a high-grade apprehension. Still and all, substantially, the feedbacks about the texts were gratifying. Concluding Remarks This chapter has revealed the survey result of target readers' perspectives on the translation quality of Gorontalo tourism brochures. The research provided both positive and negative responses, which shows the reader's interests in linguistic aspects and the non- http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 120 linguistic aspect of the texts. In relation to a non-linguistic aspect, the readers argued that the four texts' design was appropriate to make the texts appealing. Other than that, the texts' information adequacy and appealing tourism sites are the features that boost the attractiveness of the texts to become fascinating tourism promotional media. The overall judgment points of the tourism brochures produced by the Government tourism office of Gorontalo were considered effective brochures regarding the content and layout or design. Nevertheless, due to the low English translation, the reader is rather difficult to apprehend the message's intent. Thus, the promotional text must be informative and operative to communicate an appropriate message to the reader to earn good comprehension. The study results show that a huge amount of readers are hindered from getting accurate information from brochures due to inadequate translations. At the same time, it is recognized that good translation quality is an integral part of an effective brochure. The readers also acknowledged that English translation mistakes were found in the texts that averted them in getting complete information related to the objects. Most of them complained about the grammatical errors that appeared in the sentences. It is essential to know that providing a good English translation in the brochures helps open up the international market. Thereunto, the translation of the brochures must be translated by professional linguists who are experts in the English language and have the writing skills to create entrancing promotional content. This means that to make the English translation appropriate, the text requires a professional translator with a range of expertise in translating the text (Muñoz, 2012). English translators with subject-specific knowledge and a flair for the written word will make higher-quality and more appealing brochure translations. This has agreed with what was stated by Fuadi (2016) where he asserted that the translator must know the source language and target language in terms of translating a text. This is marked as one aspect that prevents the texts' attractiveness from becoming tourism marketing tools. This in agreement with two previous studies http://ertr.tamu.edu/ e-Review of Tourism Research (eRTR), Vol. 18, No. 1, 2020 http://ertr.tamu.edu 121 conducted by Zahiri, Sadeghi, and Maleki in 2015 and Napu in 2016 who argued that errors in English translations could affect the quality and attractiveness of the text, where the target readers will get into confusion in terms of capturing the message delivered, in the end, they will leave the text because it is unable to become an appropriate promotional tool. However, this study is only limited to examing the printed brochures produced by the Tourism Board in Gorontalo as one of the developing tourism industries in the eastern part of Indonesia. Therefore, the findings may not be unique to Gorontalo but also to other developing tourism industries that still rely on printed brochures used as promotional materials. 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