Travel website offering accent translations

Customers who use Lastminute.com can now enter some well known phrases into their search and get a translation into a number of British accents. Visitors to the site can ask how to say things with a Geordie, Glaswegian, Mancunian, Scouse and Brummie as well as the accent of the Bristol folk.

One example for travellers to Newcastle would be how to ask for a flight to Barcelona, which would go something like this; “Howay man! Aa’d leik te gan bi plane te Barcelona.” This new tool could help many who struggle to with the different accents of British residents. However it could get messy if a customer from Japan was trying the lingo.

The company has said that for the time being they are going to leave the London Cockney rhyming slang out of the options as there are so many sayings that would have to be translated.

“Searching for a great holiday shouldn’t be a chore, it shouldn’t feel like filling in forms. We’re trying to make it a more fun and inspiring experience so our customers can make the most of their free time,” said Marko Balabanovic, head of innovation.

The gimmick is certainly going to increase traffic to their website if only for a few local phrases before travel.