Navigating Global Localization: Insights From GetYourGuide’s Nicola Dorrington

On the latest Top Voices podcast, we spoke with Nicola Dorrington, Senior Manager of Global Localization Strategy at GetYourGuide.

Nicola shared her amazing story and global localization insights, and we learned about the challenges and opportunities of working in a multilingual and multicultural world. Let’s dive into some of the highlights below.

 

A career of cultural adaptation

 

Nicola’s path to being a localization leader is amazing and unconventional. From South Africa, she moved to a multicultural and multilingual environment across different regions within the country. These experiences, she says, were formative. “From a very young age, I saw the need for localization in a very practical way“.

Then she moved to the US and Germany, an exchange year that started her ‘love affair’ with the German language and culture. Nicola’s diverse experiences laid the foundation for her career, from teaching English in South Korea to running her own business and eventually taking on leadership roles in big global companies.

Looking back she says, “Adaptation has been a part of my life and has become a strength that serves me well in this industry.”

 

Localization at GetYourGuide – technology and humanity

 

GetYourGuide is a global travel platform operating in over 140 countries with content in 36 languages. Nicola described the company’s mission as creating amazing travel experiences; “What’s unique about GetYourGuide is that everyone here is super proud of the product. There’s a heartfelt connection to what we do.”

Localization is key to GetYourGuide’s success. Nicola’s team uses AI and automation to scale processes while keeping high-quality, culturally sensitive content in multiple languages. She emphasized the importance of balancing technological efficiency with human creativity. “AI can handle the scalable and repetitive tasks,” she said, “but the human touch is essential for creativity and cultural insight.”

This has allowed her team to scale localization, including supplier-facing content in 12 languages. Nicola emphasized the importance of in-house expertise for languages with high marketing and branding needs. “For a three-word tagline a human will always outperform AI”, she said.

 

 

Leadership lessons and career pivots

 

Nicola’s career is all about embracing change and taking calculated risks. She talked about her move from running a small business to corporate roles, “I learned so many valuable lessons, from accounting to managing ambiguity. These skills are just as important in my current role as they were when I was running my own business.”

She also talked about taking a step back to re-prioritize. Nicola is planning a sabbatical, a decision made in partnership with GetYourGuide. “Stepping away allows you to recharge, reassess and recommit; it’s not just about personal growth but also about what’s best for the team and the organization.”

 

AI and data in localization

 

Nicola spoke about generative AI and multilingual data in the future of localization. She described how GetYourGuide balances AI capabilities with human oversight, especially for creative and culturally sensitive content. “The output of AI is only as good as the input and the data it’s trained on”, she said. “Investing time in crafting the right prompts and understanding data nuances is key.”

She also mentioned the ethical considerations of AI. “People need to know what data is being collected and how it’s being used. As localization professionals, we need to communicate this information in every language.”

 

Connections that matter

 

Nicola’s localization, leadership and cultural adaptation wisdom is a must-read for anyone navigating the global business world. Her mix of strategic approach and personal anecdotes shows the importance of technology and humanity, career pivots and diversity.

As companies look to reach audiences everywhere, her experience at GetYourGuide is a great example of what thoughtful and effective localization can do. “Localization isn’t just about translation; it’s about connections that matter.”

Thanks to Nicola for her time and wisdom. Listen to the full episode and subscribe to the Top Voices podcast for more interviews with global leaders in localization and language services.