Tourism: a blessing or a curse?

Where did you spend your last holidays? Did you sunbathe on a foreign beach or go sightseeing in some historic city? It seems we have all become tourists, rushing off on weekend excursions and package holidays. The tourist industry is booming, but should we be pleased or worried about its effects?

Let’s begin with the positive side. First of all, surely nobody would disagree with the statement that tourism benefits both the holiday maker and the host country. Travel broadens the mind, encouraging tolerance and understanding between peoples. Second, tourism provides employment and can contribute significantly to the economy of a country. This is of particular importance in poor developing countries. The income generated by tourism helps to pay for education, hospitals, roads and airports. Finally, tourism can benefit wildlife. When local people realise that tourists will pay to see animals in their natural habitats, they are more inclined to protect these creatures rather than hunt and kill them.

If there are so many benefits to tourism, what's the problem? Well, it is certainly true that the effects of tourism can be unpredictable. To begin with, tourism can ruin an area of beauty, especially when over-development is allowed. We have all heard of resorts that are overrun with rowdy, unpleasant holiday makers. In some cases, the yearly invasion can be so bad that local people have had to move away. Another concern is the effect of tourism on wildlife. We are disrupting the lives of animals in many ways, whether by noise, disturbance or pollution. Think, for example, of the beaches used by turtles over thousands of years that have now been ruined by developers.

So is tourism a blessing or a curse? The answer must be that it is both. Part of the problem is that the results of tourist activity are sometimes unpredictable. The fact that developers do not mean to wipe out an endangered species from the face of the earth does not make the event any less tragic. Perhaps we need to become more responsible as tourists and subscribe to the spread of eco-tourism. If we give more consideration to the impact of our activities on the places we visit, we can go some way to lessening the worst effects of tourism.

● Find words and phrases in the article which mean the same as the words in italics.

1. The tourist industry is flourishing.

2. It’s a thrill to see animals in the places where they live naturally.

3. Some tourists are unwelcome because they are very badly-behaved and noisy.

4. Tourism is disturbing the lives of people in many small communities.

5. Developers may cause an endangered species to become extinct.

6. People are becoming aware of the need to support eco-tourism.

7. Large-scale tourism can have an unpredictable effect on a small community.

8. We can go some way to decreasing the worst effects of tourism.

10.3. Match the words to form collocations. Sometimes there is more than one answer.

1. weekend a) excursion

2. endangered b) habitat

3. holiday c) holiday

4. host d) activity

5. developing e) country

6. natural f) industry

7. package g) resort

8. tourist h) species

9. foreign i) market

10. poor j) beach

10.4. Match the two parts of the words.

1. sun a) end

2. sight b) development

3. week c) bathe

4. wild d) tourism

5. over e) run

6. over f) seeing

7. eco g) life

10.5. Answer the following questions.

1. How do you think tourism benefits holiday makers? Make a list, e.g. It offers the chance of rest and relaxation.

2. What benefits does tourism bring to host countries? Make a list, e.g. It brings in money.

3. In what ways can tourism benefit wildlife?

4. What negative effects can it have on wildlife?

5. In what ways can tourism benefit local communities?

6. What negative effects can it have on local communities? (Think of local people living in or near a big, new resort.)

7. In what way can the effects of tourism be ‘unpredictable’? Can you think of some concrete examples?

8. Do you think that tourism on its present scale is a blessing or a curse?

10.6. Explain the following phrases in bold from the article with your own words.

1. “…rushing off on weekend excursions…”

2. “…the host country”.

3. “Travel broadens the mind.”

4. “…tourism can benefit wildlife.”

5. “…by developers.”

6. “…subscribe to the spread of ecotourism.”

10.7. The leaflet below is trying to make readers aware of the problem that is threatening the wildlife in the UK.

● Which paragraph gives:

1. a definition of habitat?

2. an explanation of what is happening in the wildlife and why?

3. an explanation of what we can do to help endangered species?

4. a definition of wildlife?