Facts and challenges

Tourism is one of the biggest businesses in the world. There are nearly 800 million international tourist arrivals every year. It employs, directly or indirectly, one in fifteen of all workers worldwide, from A to Z, from airport cleaners to zookeepers, and includes bar staff, flight attendants, tour guides, and resort reps. It is a huge part of the economy of many countries - in countries such as the Bahamas, over 60% of the economy is based on tourism.

Tourism is a last-growing business. When Thomas Cook organized his first excursion from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841, he probably didn't know what he was starting. Key developments in the last 150 years or so have led to the rise of mass tourism. There have been technological developments in transport, in particular the appearance of air travel and charter flights. There have been changes in working practices, with workers getting paid holiday time and working shorter and more flexible hours.

In recent years we have seen the growth of the Internet and globalization, making the world seem a smaller but very fascinating place. The tourism industry grows faster and faster each year. In 1950, there were 25 million international tourist arrivals. In 2004, the figure was 760 million, and by 2020 it is predicted to be 1.6 billion.

But what are the challenges today? The tourism industry is affected by many different things: international events, economic change, changes in fashion. New concerns and worries appear every year, for example as people become more worried about security and international terrorism, or as the value of their currency changes. But new destinations and new sources of tourists also seem to emerge every year.

Tourism survives. It is a powerful and sometimes dangerous force in the modern world. Tourism creates many good jobs and careers, but it also produces many poor and badly paid jobs. Tourism can help to protect environments and animal life, but it can also damage them. Tourism can save cultures and the local way of life, but it can also destroy them. Tourism can change countries and people for the better, but it can also change them for the worse.

Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the world. It is perhaps also the most important.

3. In pairs, answer and discuss these questions.

1. What do these numbers in paragraphs 2 and 3 refer to?

a 1841 b 25 million с 760 million d 1.6 billion

2. What are the four positive and four negative effects of tourism mentioned in the article?

3. How many jobs in tourism can you think of?

4. Which of the key developments in tourism do you think were the most important?

5. Can you think of some recent international events that have affected the tourism industry?

6. Do you think tourism is a positive or a negative influence in the world?

(taken from Robin Walker and Keith Harding Oxford English for Careers. Tourism 1. Student ‘s book, p. 10)

Vocabulary: types of holidays

Task 5. Look at this list of types of holiday. Match each one with the correct

drawing/icon, and with the appropriate phrase from a publicity brochure.

a adventure e farmstay i safari/wildlife

b camping f fly-drive j self-catering

с cruise g independent/backpacking k skiing

d driving/touring h package/beach l trekking

i 'Sun, sea, and sand - and all you pack is your suitcase'

ii 'A floating five-star hotel'

iii 'Route maps provided'

iv 'Escape the crowds - go where the mood takes you'

v 'A unique game-viewing experience'

vi 'Tents available for hire'

vii 'Discover a world of excitement'

viii 'Your car will be waiting at the airport'

ix 'Each suite has basic cooking facilities and a fridge'

x 'Breathtaking views from the snow-capped Himalayas'

xi 'Sun glistening on the white Alpine slopes'

xii 'Experience the working life of the countryside'

(taken fromKeith Harding Going International. English for Tourism. p. 29)

Task 6. For the past few decades many forms of tourism, also known as niche tourism, have been becoming more popular. Match special forms of tourism with their definitions:

1. Adventure tourism	a. is a grassroots effort to support independent bookstores by promoting them as a travel des­tination.
2. Agritourism	b. sustainable tourism which has minimal impact on the environment, such as safaris (Kenya) and Rainforests (Belize), or national parks.
3. Armchair tourism or virtual tourism	c. includes urban tourism, visit­ing historical or interesting cities, such as Lon­don, Paris, Prague, Rome, Cairo, Beijing, Ky­oto, and experiencing their cultural heritages. May also consist of specialized cultural expe­riences, such as art museum tourism where one visits many art museums during the tour, or op­era tourism where one sees many operas or concerts during the tour.
4. Bookstore Tourism	d. travelling to such places as Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Macau or Monte Carlo for the purpose of gambling at the casinos there.
5. Cultural tourism	e. farm based tourism, helping to support the lo­cal agricultural economy.
6. Disaster tourism	f. involves travelling to an education institution, a wooded retreat or some other destination in order to take personal-interest classes, includ­ing cooking classes with a famous chef or crafts classes.
7. Ecotourism	g. not travelling physically, but exploring the world through internet, books, TV, etc.
8. Educational tourism	h. travelling to a disaster scene not primarily for helping, but because one finds it interesting to see. It can be a problem if it hinders rescue, relief and repair work.
9. Gambling tourism	i. tourism involving travel in rugged regions, or adventurous sports such as mountaineering and hiking (tramping).
10. Heritage tourism	j. travelling alone or with groups to participate in hobby interests, to meet others with similar interests, or to experience something pertinent to the hobby, e.g. garden tours or square dance cruises.
11. Health tourism	k. spending your time participating in some sport activities such as skiing, golf and scuba diving or travelling to watch a sport competition or vacationing at the winter home of one's favor­ite baseball team, and seeing them play every­day.
12. Hobby tourism	l. wealthy individuals always on vacation, some of them, for tax purposes, to avoid being resi­dent in any country.
13.Inclusive tourism	m. travelling only to few countries in the region, using one of the countries as the transit point. The country of transit point is usually a coun­try with good transport infrastructure, e.g. Sin­gapore is the base for tourism for South East Asia due to its strategic location and good transport infrastructure.
14. Medical tourism	n. usually to escape from cities or relieve stress, perhaps for some 'fun in the sun', etc., often to "health spas".
15. Perpetual tourism	o. tourism marketed to those with functional lim­its or disabilities. Referred to as "Tourism for All" in some regions. Destinations often em­ploy Universal Design and Universal Destina­tion Development principles.
16. Regional tourism	p. visiting historical or industrial sites, such as old canals, railways, battlegrounds, etc.
17. Sport tourism	q. travelling to get medical treatment either that is illegal in one's own country, e.g. abortion, euthanasia, or for advanced care that is not available in one's own country or in the case that there are long waiting lists in one's own country or for use of free or cheap health care organizations.

(taken from Сербиновская А.М. Английский язык для турбизнеса и сервиса. cтр. 206-207, 221-222)

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