ابوالقاسم علیپور

The hotel industry in Qeshm Island is rapidly expanding. An important component in the hotel industry is the human resource. Tourists do not just come for the facilities and attractions, they want to be treated right and well and that is why a good command of the English language is always regarded as an asset for personnel in the tourism industry. This study was conducted to study and analyze the impact of one of the English skills, i.e., speaking of staff in hotels on attracting tourist in Qeshm Island. In order to so, data was collected from 25 foreign tourists in a hotel as Marina Hotel, regarding their expectations and perceptions of their stay about personal qualities of the hotels’ staff in different positions. The results obtained from the expectations of the guests indicated that the role and importance of the ‘English language proficiency’ in the tourism industry is relative to job function. ‘English language proficiency’ is more expected from those who often come into direct face-to-face contact with hotel guests such as the reception staff and it is more expected for the hotel management personnel as well. For other hotel staff, such as food & beverage and housekeeping staff, other qualities are expected more than ‘English language proficiency’ by hotel guests.