Guilt-Free Holidays

Eco-tourism is becoming more and more popular, and it’s easy to see why. Deprived areas make the most of their natural attractions, the environment benefits and travelers feel they are ‘giving something back’ to the place they visit. Perhaps, the age of responsible tourism has arrived at last. Let’s look at four very different eco-tourism projects from around the globe.

1. Sinking a Warship

Agroup in England is planning to sinka retired warship in order to use it as an artificial diving reef. They plan to sink the ship off the Cornish coast and hope the project will generate ten million pounds a year for the local economy by attracting diving enthusiasts.

It is believed that the reef will encourage eco-tourism through diving, as well as help protect fish stocks and marine life in general. The sunken ship would attract divers from across Europe and there will be facilities for able-bodied and disabled divers.

The group is appealing to similar organizations in the hope that they will help them, not only financially but also by sharing their knowledge on such projects.

The scheme would be the first for Britain. Other countries including America and Australia already have artificial reefs created from redundant ships, and the response from diving enthusiasts has so far proved amazing.

2. Hippies Go Home

Goa’s Anjuna beach is a place which symbolises the carefree hippie lifestyle. It is a place where low budget tourists go when they have run out of money. At the weekly market, travellers try to sell their cameras, cassettes, guitars and even their clothes.

However, it may soon all be over because the local authorities have announced that they want to discourage tourists who visit the area on shoestring budgets.

Local residents do not entirely agree. Although they would like to see better-off tourists in Goa, they do not think it wise to turn away the budget travellers. Tourist organisations want to concentrate on eco-tourism and plan to organize jungle safaris because they believe such projects will attract up-market travellers. Both the residents and the travel organisations feel that it is not sensible to snub the tourists they already have in an 35 attempt to attract more wealthy visitors.

3. Inca Cable Car

The Inca people built Machu Picchu high up in the mountains because the area was so remote. Now these pristine mountains will be changed forever by Swiss engineering. A Swiss company plans to build a cable car to lift visitors 500m up into the mountains. This means that travellers will no longer have to trek for days along the Inca Trail to sample the magic of Machu Picchu.

Opponents to the scheme argue that the cable car will be visible from the site’s famous Sun Temple. There is also a wider concern that big business tourism will benefit from the scheme, while local inhabitants who earn little money from tourism will not.

UNESCO would like to see the development of eco- tourism rather than mass tourism in the area. The Peruvian government on the other hand supports the cable car scheme, saying that it will allow it to go ahead, and it will see that the character of Machu Picchu is preserved.

4. African Village Experience

An eco-tourism project with a difference has just been launched in the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. Tourists will be offered the chance to encounter a wide range of wildlife and a great deal more. This project was set up by the local villagers who were suffering from a downturn in the national economy. They decided to raise money themselves to cover the cost of educational and welfare projects. Tourists will be invited to live the Arfican Village Experience. The tours are led by English speaking villagers, and visitors can choose from activities such as meeting the local healer to taking part in cooking or farming. Visitors are also offered the option of staying the night in the village. What’s more, they are encouraged to join in all the local traditions, such as using the left hand to eat with and eating in separate dining areas for males and females.

81

A. Find five words in the article which are geographical features. Are there any such features in your country? (e.g. reef)

B. Find words/phrases in the text which mean:

1. not natural (A) ______

2. to produce (A) ______

3. to put off (B) ______

4. to insult or ignore (B) ______

5. untouched, dean (C) _______

6. services provided to help with living conditions and financial problems (D) ____

C. Explain the meaning of the words and phrases in bold.

82

Find the opposites of the following words taken from the text.

• sink (a ship) raise;

• attract

• protect

• low-budgets (tourists)

• preserve (character)

• sensible

• retired

83

Look at the phrases taken from the text and explain what they mean in your own words.

1. "...the response from diving enthusiasts has so far proved amazing."

2. "... they would like to see better-off tourists in Goa..."

3. "...it's not sensible to snub the tourists they already have ..."

4. "...it will see that the character of Machu Picchu is preserved."

5. "Tourists will be invited to live the African Village Experience."

84

Make a sentence summary for each part (A-D) of the text.

Do you think the projects will be successful? Why? Why not?