Английский язык туризм и гостиничный сервис

20. Read an article in which four readers suggest locations for watching wildlife. For questions 1-15, choose from the readers (A-D). The readers may be chosen more than once.

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WILDLIFE ENCOUNTERS

A Kevin: Hallo Bay, Alaska

The first time you see a bear, when you realise that it’s just you, the guide and that bear, your mouth definitely goes dry. Unlike in other more frequently visited areas, the bears at Hallo Bay don’t associate humans with food as nobody’s ever fed them, so they pose no risk to people. You can watch the bears fish in the river, nurse their cubs, photograph them hunting for clams on the beach or find them sleeping with their full bellies nestled in a hollow they’ve dug in the sand. For me, Hallo Bay’s a magical place. I’ve always been a person who was structured and organised, but I’ve said for years now that I lost my list in Alaska. One thing which makes Hallo Bay so special is that the remote camp has just a dozen guests at a time, with guided groups of no more than half that many heading out to search for the bears. And there’s no shortage of them; Hallo Bay has one of the world’s healthiest populations of coastal browns, maybe because of the plentiful food supply. It must be how the planet was several hundred years ago. Admittedly, Hallo Bay would be a bit challenging if you’d never been wildlife watching before. But for me, even without the bears it would be a gorgeous place to visit.

B Sarah: Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

It’s so hard to recommend just one location in Africa to go in search of the big five! However, if you’ve never been on safari before, then travel is straightforward in South Africa and its parks are the cheapest if you’re short of money. Also, if you want to take children with you there are parks, such as Madikwe Game Reserve, that are malariafree. This doesn’t mean you can’t have an adventure. The parks have well-equipped campsites and good-quality roads, so it’s perfectly possible to fly in, hire a four-by-four, fully equipped with everything you need for a fortnight’s camping, and head off on your own. There’s also an impressive selection of volunteer projects involving animals, particularly around the country’s biggest parks. I spent four weeks helping at a veterinary practice with African Conservation Experience. I got the chance to work with lion, cheetah, sable antelope, elephant and buffalo. The work’s extremely hands-on and you have to be ready for anything, whether it’s taking a lion’s temperature or treating a dog for a snake bite!

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C Ray: Playa Grande Sanctuary, Costa Rica

With concerns mounting about the pressure on the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica’s popularity as a wildlife venue could be about to take off, and deservedly so. It boasts the world’s highest biodiversity according to some guidebooks and packs in 850 species of birds and a quarter of the world’s species of butterfly. From cloud forest to Caribbean beaches and from dry tropical forest to mangrove swamps, Costa Rica has it all: iguanas at your feet, capuchin monkeys overhead, sloths are to be seen, and if you’re really lucky you’ll catch sight of one of Costa Rica’s jaguars. However, perhaps the most magical thing to do here is watch turtles lay their eggs on a moonlight drenched beach. It does require patience; we waited two nights, napping on hard benches at the Playa Grande sanctuary, before one of the wardens shook us awake to say a female had been spotted laboriously making her way out of the surf. The turtles go into a sort of trance and we were allowed quite close to watch her dig a hole with her flippers and deposit hundreds of eggs, the size of golf balls. She then casually covered them up and headed off back down the beach – the last she’ll see of her young. The eggs are then gathered by the wardens and taken to their hatchery to protect them from predators.

D Amy: Chitwan National Park, Nepal

With tigers, snow leopards and one-homed rhinoceros, Nepal certainly has its share of endangered animals. The snow leopard is perhaps the most exotic of them all but, with only a maximum of five hundred of these cats left in the country, they’re incredibly difficult to spot. Snow leopard treks are organised regularly, but if you go on one you need to enjoy it for the sheer magnificence of the scenery and not feel let down if you don’t spot your ultimate prey. It could be a lifechanging experience, but it’s not that likely to happen. I visited Chitwan at the foot of the Himalayas. The park was set aside for wildlife in 1959 and is the place to see Indian rhinoceros as well as being one of the last refuges of the Bengal tiger. One of the best ways to view both is from the back of an elephant – something that is rather fabulous in itself. We were having breakfast one day when two elephants were being taken for their daily wash on the river bank near our hotel. We made a small donation and asked to help – it was one of the most amazing animal encounters possible, sitting on the backs of those huge elephants scrubbing their

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backs whilst they knelt in the water and sprayed us from their trunk! All the more special as it was so impromptu.

21. This article was written for a magazine called Our Planet and, using the example of Waikiki, describes ways in which small island states can develop sustainable tourism. As you read, make a note of the things that a developer should and should not do.

SAFE TOURISM

Most resource-poor island states trying to manage to survive in the global economy cannot afford to neglect the economic opportunities tourism offers. As they suffer from the continuing slide of international commodity prices, many have no alternative but to offer their natural beauty – and cheap labour costs – to attract the tourist industry. Following the rules for sustainable tourism -while tough – could reduce the risks to the environment.

So, what rules keep you profitably safe and sustainably beautiful? The first rule is: keep tourists all in one place for as long as you can during their visit to your island. Leaving aside the thorny issues of foreign ownership and oversaturation, Hawaii can teach us a few things about safe tourism! The world’s most recognised tourist destination is Waikiki. Now Waikiki was not always a beach – it was a swamp before developers trucked in white sand to create the fabled strand. The hotels on Waikiki all rose out of the same swamp and reclaimed lands. Which neatly encapsulates your second rule of safe tourism: do not displace any existing destinations.

Waikiki itself, with some 30,000 hotel rooms, covers little more than seventeen city blocks. Despite its small area, the great majority of the five million tourists who visit Hawaii every year do not venture beyond this luxurious ghetto, much to the delight of the indigenous communities. Have you ever tried to get an hotel room outside of Waikiki on the island of Oahu? It is tough to find an hotel. And there are no plans to approve any more, say aides to Governor John Waihe’e, Hawaii’s first Polynesian governor. Governor Waihe’e seems proud of the fact that he has not approved a major tourist development since he took office.

Another rule: take fewer tourists who will stay longer and spend more. A report commissioned by the (former) Hawaii governor’s office found that the four million people who visited the islands in 1984 spent

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an average of ten days and unloaded $1,000 per head. Not a good sign, because infrastructural construction and maintenance costs, already hovering around one billion dollars a year, rise to keep up with such huge numbers of visitors to an island state with a total population of about a million. And do not forget that close to 60 per cent of the tourist receipts are immediately repatriated off island.

With the concentration on volume, massive hotels had to be built to cope with the millions of bodies that the airlines were dumping on the island – with competitive fares designed to put bottoms on the much larger numbers of seats in the huge 747s. In many cases the bigger hotels were relying on package tours for half their occupancy rates.

And what is wrong with big hotels? You can imagine the amount of water, energy, personnel, roads and the like which have to be diverted to such large constructions – paid for by local tax-payers. Building huge hotels requires enormous amounts of money which are available only in the metropolitan countries, which in turn means handing ownership over to off-island corporations. Owners from distant places have a history of tying their continued presence abroad to the amount of incentives offered by the authorities, which are already of revenues from tourism are repatriated off-island.

Hawaii has redirected its efforts to attract fewer visitors of a higher calibre. By so doing, the resorts are smaller, less costly, and much more pleasant places to visit. It was ironic that the most successful, and expensive, resorts in Hawaii were the smaller ones like Hana Maui Ranch, which had neither television nor air-conditioning. Hana Maui Ranch did have a cultural show, but it did not feature professional entertainers -those dancing for the guests were the maids, gardeners, accountants and managers of the hotel, all of whom were local Polynesians. Yet it continues to enjoy some of the highest return rates anywhere.

That leads me to another rule: involve the local community. Ensure your success is shared by them. Offer local farmers and business folk the first opportunity to provide your resort with food. A letter from your resort to a grower guaranteeing to buy all they can grow of certain vegetables can be used by the farmer to get a favourable loan from the local bank! Instead of importing, for example, an artist-in-residence, which is fashionable in the top resorts, appoint local artists, and import a coastal-botanist-in-residence, and give the findings to the local

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authorities, thereby increasing the knowledge the community has of its own natural resources. Also consider marine biologists, musicologists, agronomists, and for the really confident and savvy, mythologists. In other words try to improve the lot of the locals. If you do not, then you are sentencing yourself to eventual failure which will manifest itself in surly workers and insults hurled at your hotel guests. When you first notice these signs – find a buyer, quick.

(article by Lelei Lelaulu in Our Planet)

22. Role Play.

You are going to hold a public meeting and debate the pros and cons of a major tourism development in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

1.First read the newspaper article and summarize the main points.

2.Choose the role you want and follow the suggestions on the role.

3.You can add your own ideas to the suggestions.

One of you is going to be the chairperson.

Your role is to make the meeting go smoothly and let everyone have their say. Discussions can get heated and you may have to remind participants to remain polite, not interrupt, not monopolize the discussions

and so on.

Here is some useful language:

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THE ISSUE FOR DISCUSSION

Ambitious plans to spend µ 100 million on a disused mine to turn it into a tourist complex are causing a fierce dispute among locals. The tourist development is planned to center around a “Quarrytorium,” with a guided visit down the mine, and a residential complex waterfalls, lasers and holograms and an adventure playground. The disused mine is less than a mile from a village, where local people live.

Recently a company called LeisureLand has come up with a project which, besides the Quarrytorium, also includes hotels, conference facilities, shops and restaurants, and a sports center. Most controversially, there are also plans for thirty ‘holiday farmsteads’, each consisting of about twenty farm-type cottages.

However, since the proposals were published in the local paper, people have started objecting. A protest group has been formed, headed by Gwynneth Jones, whose house overlooks the mine.

Although careful to give credit to the town council for buying and trying to develop the area, the protest group feels that the scheme would overwhelm the village and be alien to the natural beauty of the region. The matter is now being debated at an extraordinary council meeting in the town hall at which a decision must be reached. Representatives of all viewpoints of the local community have been invited.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE ROLES

G. Jones – leader of the local protest movement.

Views on the proposed tourist development:

–tourism creates mainly temporary, seasonal employment;

–the few permanent jobs unlikely to go to locals;

–community will not benefit overall;

–will create land speculation, causing house prices to rise and forcing more young people to leave the area.

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Suggestion: develop the area into a high-tech business park.

Advantages:

–permits the area to be levelled and landscaped;

–area would blend in with the surrounding countryside;

–creates wealth in the area;

–creates a permanent and stable workforce in the region;

–avoids the inevitable congestion and disruption caused by excessive tourism;

–sustains local culture and language.

B. Hall – Chair of National Park Society.

Views on the proposed tourist development:

–people come for natural beauty and tranquility;

–area would be spoilt by heavily congested roads, day trippers, litter;

–local infrastructure could not cope with the coachloads from Manchester and Liverpool;

–too great a burden on local hospitals and the police.

Suggestion: if people want the sort of tourist attraction being proposed they should go to the seaside.

M. Hamilton – Vice-chairman of Leisure Land.

Views on the area:

–of the area; tourism potential;

–work in shops and cafes is seasonal;

–in summer the Snowdon mountain railway, which runs from the

–village, takes over 150,000 people to the summit, and has to turn many away;

–during the winter the village is dead;

–area losing valuable human resources;

–more people coming into the area;

–if there is nothing for the extra number of tourists to do, they will wander round the National Park, causing unnecessary damage.

Leisure Land will:

–establish a year-round tourist attraction;

–create 300 – 500 temporary construction jobs;

–create 1,000 permanent full-time jobs for local population;

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–create controlled entertainment for the day trippers;

–save the National Park from damage.

B. Evans – Town councilor.

Views on the proposed tourist development:

–ridiculous to turn down an opportunity to create 1,000 jobs;

–without jobs, the language and culture of Wales will be lost;

–no additional financial burden to the community – grants can be obtained from the Welsh Tourist Board, the Sports Council and the EU.

Suggestions:

–Arfon Borough Council owns the land – can insist that the new 600 new houses are not sold outright or as timeshare apartments, but rented strictly on a weekly or weekend basis;

–the council can make sure that the Welsh language and culture are promoted, e.g. hold festivals of Celtic music and Welsh arts and crafts festivals.

M. Jones – Owner of small gift shop and restaurant.

Views on the proposed tourist development:

–welcome influx of tourists;

–valuable business opportunity;

–unemployment in the area;

–Greens are in a small minority – should not be allowed to influence such an important decision;

–wildlife has never been in danger;

–derelict mine is an eyesore.

В. Morgan – Local teacher.

Views on the proposed tourism development:

–would result in cars coming at the rate of one every four seconds on a summer holiday weekend;

–would create havoc on the roads;

–Welsh language and culture would be severely affected by the number of holidaymakers from England – already difficult to keep the ancient language and culture of Wales alive;

–this new housing estate will be used by people from the North of England as second homes;

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–they will be a separate community giving nothing to the area;

–the 600 houses will be empty for most of the year.

23.Divide into two groups: those who are against the project and those who are in favour; debate the issue and vote on it.

24.Discussion. Think and answer.

1.How and where do you usually spend your holidays?

2.Have you ever had a "green" holiday? Would you like to?

3.Do you think it would be more or less interesting than your typical holidays?

4.Have you ever been on an educational or activities holiday?

5.What were the good or bad points?

6.Where would your ideal holiday be in the English-speaking world? Australia? The United States? Ireland? Great Britain? Why?

7.Have you ever visited a country that you prefer to your own?

8.Would you like to live there?

9.How would your lifestyle differ from your present one? Why?

10.Norway's 1994 Winter Olympic Games were the first "Green Games." There was no big building programme and visitors were forced to use public transport. What would be the public reaction if this happened in Russia?

25. Translate from Russian into English.

Экотуризм в России

Байкал

Байкал является одним из интереснейших мест для развития такого туристического направления как экотуризм. Сюда приезжают эко туристы из самых различных стран. Ежегодно горы, окружающие озеро Байкал, раздвигаются, и расстояние между ними с каждым годом увеличивается на несколько сантиметров. Здесь можно увидеть деревья, которые начали свой рост еще в середине прошлого тысячелетия, то есть сегодня им уже не одна сотня лет. Интересной особенностью является тот факт, что над Байкалом нельзя увидеть облака. Их здесь просто нет, потому что вода в озере очень холодная и испарение оказывается недостаточным. Экотуры на Байкал не оставят никого равнодушным. Здесь можно увидеть

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