A few months back, a colleague got in touch about an exciting travel translation project.
Along with her partner, both born and raised in and passionate about their stunning, unspoilt corner of Aragon, she was setting up a new travel agency offering off-the-beaten-track adventures in the Pyrenees.
Lardana Expeditions hopes to welcome international travellers. And as a translator herself, Iris knows the best way to convince people they should put their holiday in your hands is to speak to them in their language, using all the right terminology and painting an irresistible picture of the adventure they could be embarking on.
For me, this was a dream project:
✅ Creative SEO translation (or transcreation) for a travel agency.
✅ Translating about the Aragonese Pyrenees, which I know and adore.
✅ And supporting a new local business, committed to sustainable, responsible tourism, run by locals and boosting other local enterprises.
The perfect English tagline for this adventure travel agency
First stop was coming up with a memorable, snappy tagline translation to reflect the Spanish version:
“EXPLORA EL PIRINEO INDÓMITO”
As any company knows, your tagline is a big deal, and in this case, it would be appearing on their Lardana Expeditions van as well as all their marketing materials, so it wasn’t a choice to be made lightly.
I researched their competition, got creative and sent over six ideas, each with detailed explanations of the thinking behind them.
And they were chuffed:
“Regarding the taglines: thank you so much for the ideas, we loved them!”
In the end, they went with “Explore the wild Pyrenees”, rather than one of the options that moved away from the original structure, but…
“I’m saving all the ideas and will use them on the website and social media 😍”
The challenges of translating for this Spanish travel agency
Digging into the translations of the home page, about page, and more, as well as all the descriptions of the different trip formats they’ll be offering, was the best kind of creative challenge.
Luckily, I’ve been to a lot of the places mentioned myself, which helped me to imagine the places described and adapt my translations accordingly. But for places that are new to me, my tried and tested translator research skills came into play.
The original copy was beautifully written and super evocative, helping the reader visualise themselves standing on that summit, sipping a beer in a mountain hut after a long day on the trails, or hearing a marmot’s alarm call for the first time.
So, having been given full creative license, I moved away from the original where necessary, so the texts would conjure up the same irresistible images for their English-speaking audience. And, of course, I optimised the copy for the chosen keyword for each page whilst I was at it.
I always find the best way to make these texts flow as well as possible, with no hint that they’re a translation, is to give them room to breathe.
Work on the initial translation, leave it to settle, then come back with fresh eyes for a final polish and flourish.
“I have had a quick look and they look fantastic 😍”
Lardana Expeditions is now open for business, and will soon be welcoming their first international adventurers.
The website is now almost entirely translated, and is ready to be perused, but Iris and Guille know they can rely on me when they expand their range of trips in future.
Looking for a glowing English translation for your Spanish travel agency’s website, tagline, or marketing materials?
Working with a specialist in marketing translations for tourism, with specific experience with agencies based in Spain, is the key to attracting visitors from the UK and beyond who are dreaming of all the adventures this incredible country has to offer.
Check out the finished results for Lardana Expeditions below, and get in touch to see how I could help your message travel.
