Is your company exploring doing business in Central and Eastern Europe? Read this blog post to learn more about culture, etiquette and business communications in this region.

The Day aims to promote linguistic diversity across Europe by encouraging Europeans to learn other languages, and also to improve awareness of other cultures and the diversity of the continent. This event has been running for almost 15 years and is celebrated at the Council of Europe and in its 47 member states. Find out more about the origins of different European languages.

In six decades, international tourism has skyrocketed from 25 million holidaymakers in 1950 to 1,053 million in 2012. Once again summer is here and many of us Brits are clearing our desks, packing our bags and heading off to favoured destinations such as Spain, Greece and Turkey for two weeks of sun, sea and sand. But where do people from around the world take their holidays? Here we take a look at the Top 10 destinations for international tourists and which countries are making the most from tourism…

China, Russia, Brazil – the opportunities are certainly out there, but is language a barrier to the UK’s success in these markets? The research suggests so. As Roland Rudd, Chairman of Business new Europe states in a recent paper published by the Education and Employers taskforce, ‘our national language deficit effectively acts as a tax on trade’. As he quite rightly points out, this is a tax businesses can’t afford to pay.

Las Fallas is a local festival celebrated every year at the beginning of March in Valencia, Spain. It attracts a huge number of visitors every year. During this two-week period Valencia transforms into a city of flames. I can assure you this is an amazing and unforgettable event and that you have never seen anything like this before!

With most accepted business wisdom traditionally coming from America, it makes a refreshing change to look to Europe for exemplars of good business models and practice. You may have never heard of a Mittelstand company, yet these companies have been one of the driving forces behind the German economy, and also help drive the German export market forward. If you are looking to expand overseas, it may be worth looking at some of their strategies for growth.

The automotive sector accounts for 10% of Britain’s exports and is therefore a key driver of UK economic growth with vehicles now established as the UK’s number one manufactured export. Let’s hope the UK car industry can stay in pole position and win the race.