Study on the Integration of Cross-Cultural Narrative Competence into Tourism Translation Teaching in the Greater Bay Area

Abstract

This study explores the integration of cross-cultural narrative competence (CCNC) in tourism translation teaching in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Using a qualitative research approach (primarily semi-structured interviews), this study selects four university English teachers, four translation students from different grades, and four tourism industry practitioners in the GBA as research participants to systematically examine the current status and integration pathways of CCNC in tourism translation teaching. The findings reveal that current tourism translation teaching remains dominated by linguistic skill training with an overemphasis on language equivalence, while CCNC has yet to be systematically incorporated into the curriculum. Respondents demonstrate insufficient cognitive clarity regarding CCNC but show high recognition of its value, widely acknowledging its core role in tourism translation. In authentic tourism contexts, translation transcends mere linguistic conversion and serves as a medium for cultural meaning construction and dissemination. Furthermore, students exhibit a notable deficiency in cultural expression ability alongside prominent practical needs, with a unanimous demand for practice-oriented and situational teaching. On this basis, this study put forward three feasible integration pathways of CCNC in tourism translation teaching, such as task-driven situational teaching, cultural reconstruction and expression training, and the integration of local cultural resources in the GBA. These teaching integration pathways for CCNC provide practical references for the innovation of tourism translation teaching in the GBA.