Entrepreneurs and business owners need to develop a host of skills in order for their businesses to succeed, and so they may wonder: is learning Italian good for business?

The short answer is yes. Italian is mostly associated with beautiful art, fashion, luxury goods and culture, but it is a lot more than a tourist language. It is spoken by 70 million first-language speakers, not just in Italy, but all over the world. Italian-speaking communities exist in the US, UK, Australian and Argentina, as well as Malta, Slovenia and Croatia.

Thus, learning the Italian language gives business owners direct access to an enormous market. Research carried out in 2012 found that Italian was the fourth most requested language by employers. Clearly, there is huge demand for people who are able to negotiate in an Italian buyers’ native language.