There was a time when getting lost overseas was considered part of the charm. You mispronounced dinner, pointed vaguely at a menu and hoped for the best. Sometimes you were rewarded. Sometimes you learned a lesson.
Today, travellers still get lost, but far less often for linguistic reasons.
New research from Global Rescue suggests translation apps have quietly become one of the most relied-upon tools in modern travel, used not out of novelty but necessity. According to its Fall 2025 Traveller Sentiment and Safety Survey, nearly 60 per cent of experienced travellers now use translation apps when travelling internationally.
It is not a dramatic technological revolution. It is a practical one.
Women are the most consistent users, with 61 per cent reporting regular use, while non-US travellers lead overall adoption at 62 per cent. Men sit close behind at 60 per cent, and US travellers at 59 per cent. Only 38 per cent say they avoid translation tools altogether — a figure that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
The reasons are tellingly mundane. Nearly six in ten travellers say translation apps help them manage everyday interactions: reading menus, ordering food, navigating public transport, and asking directions, the sort of encounters that define travel not in brochures, but in lived experience.
Women were marginally more likely than men to use translation apps for these purposes, but the sharper distinction appears between US and non-US travellers. Those travelling outside the American market were significantly more likely to say translation apps gave them a sense of independence and confidence, 15 per cent compared with just nine per cent of US respondents.
That gap speaks less to technology than to temperament. For many travellers, language remains the last barrier that makes a place feel truly foreign.
“Translation apps have become a quiet but vital part of the modern traveler’s toolkit,” said Dan Richards, CEO of The Global Rescue Companies and a member of the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board at the US Department of Commerce. “They help break down barriers, allowing travelers to connect, navigate and explore more confidently, even when language is a challenge.”
The word “quiet” matters. These apps do not announce themselves. They sit in pockets, open only when needed, smoothing interactions that might otherwise feel awkward or intimidating.
That said, the technology is not flawless. Subtleties, slang and cultural shorthand are still fertile ground for misunderstanding. No algorithm has yet mastered irony, humour or tone. Global Rescue’s research reinforces what seasoned travellers already know: translation apps work best as support tools, not substitutes for learning basic local phrases.
One area gaining momentum is real-time translation, where spoken conversations are translated instantly. More than half of all respondents — 54 per cent — said they have used real-time translation apps while travelling internationally. Usage is slightly higher among women than men, while non-US travellers lag behind US travellers in adoption.
Another 28 per cent say they have not yet used real-time translation, but plan to, which signals that uptake is still climbing.
“The data show that travelers value tools that make communication easier, but adoption still varies,” Richards said. “Technology is closing the gap between languages, helping travelers feel safer, more independent and more engaged in their surroundings.”
For Australian travellers, traditionally adventurous, outward-looking and unapologetically curious, translation apps have become less about convenience and more about confidence. They allow travellers to move beyond tourist zones, ask questions, linger, and engage.
Global Rescue, founded in 2004, has long operated at the sharp end of travel risk management, providing medical, security and evacuation support through every major global crisis of the past two decades. Its insights carry weight precisely because they are grounded in what happens when travel goes wrong.
In this case, the message is reassuring. Travellers are not becoming less capable. They are becoming better equipped.
And if the golden age of the phrasebook has passed, it has been replaced by something far more useful: understanding.
For more information, visit www.globalrescue.com.
by Jason Smith – (c) 2025
Read Time: 4 minutes.
About the Writer.
Jason Smith has the kind of story you can’t fake, built on long flights, new cities, and that unmistakable hum of hotel life that gets under your skin and never quite leaves. Half American, half Asian, he grew up surrounded by the steady rhythm of the tourism trade in the U.S., where his family helped others see the world long before he did.
Eager to carve out his own path, Jason packed his bags for Bangkok and the Asian Institute of Hospitality & Management, where he majored in Hotel Management and found a career and a calling. From there came years on the road, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, each stop adding another thread to his craft.
He made his mark in Thailand, eventually becoming Director of Sales for one of the country’s leading hotel chains. Then came COVID-19: borders closed, flights grounded, and a new chapter began.
Back home in America, Jason turned his knack for connection into words, joining Global Travel Media to tell the stories behind the check-ins written with the same warmth and honesty that have always defined him.
