Hospitality and tourism is often described as ‘the pleasure industry’ or ‘the welcome industry’. It is an industry where communication is the key feature. It is also an international industry and will involve a range of inter-cultural encounters. The language of this industry is quite clearly English in an international context, but it is also the language of meeting needs, of providing high levels of service, of understanding people, of delighting people, and of solving problems. From an instructional point of view, the emphasis is firmly on functional language – giving information, making recommendations, dealing with problems and on creating realistic situational practice where language functions can be demonstrated and developed alongside basic service-oriented performance.