To use words to think and reason

English home language

Grade 8

Towns and tourism

Module 12

To use language to think and reason

Activity 1:

To read for information

To use language to think and reason

[lo 3.1, 5.1]

• Read the following passage carefully and then do the work that follows. You will be looking at tourism more closely in order to understand the activities that follow.

Holidays and Tourism

A brief history of tourism

The Romans probably started tourism in the 15th century, with their holiday villas in the Bay of Naples.

And then, in the 19th century, the education of the rich and privileged few was not complete without a Grand Tour of Europe’s cultural sites.

Things started to change for ordinary people in 1845 when Thomas Cook of England organized the first package tour. By 1939, an estimated one million people were travelling abroad for holidays each year.

However, it is in the last three decades of the 20th century that tourism has really taken off. Tourism has become industrialized: landscapes, cultures, cuisines and religions are consumer goods displayed in travel brochures.

Tourism today

Nowadays people in industrialized countries have a shorter working week, longer holidays and more money to spend on leisure. Many more people now own cars, which give them access to almost anywhere at any time they wish.

But greater leisure for everyone brings its own problems. People and their vehicles concentrate at scenic places along the coast or in the countryside, or at places offering leisure facilities and entertainment. The concentrations are most marked at weekends, at peak holiday times and

throughout the summer. Electricity and water consumption skyrocket and littering and pollution became a problem. Long traffic queues are common along well-used holiday routes with petrol fumes polluting the air.

Many people now take holidays in neighbouring countries and abroad. Tourism (catering for foreign visitors) is becoming more important in developing countries. These countries have come to see the importance of the money tourists spend and the part they play in creating jobs. Some countries have developed their tourist potential and they plan for tourist growth by building facilities, services and resorts.

1. Your educator will help you to draw up a timeline summarizing the history of tourism.
2. Give FOUR reasons why many more people are able to travel nowadays.
3. Draw TWO columns in your workbook. Head these columns ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES. Refer to the reading passage. Underline the main advantages and disadvantages of tourism stated in the passage. Write down the key words in the appropriate column.

• Now, read the following dictionary extract in preparation for the questions that follow.

Holiday / ‘holi,dei, / n.&v. –n. 1 esp. Brit. (often in pl.) an extended period of recreation, esp. away from home or in travelling; a break from work (cf. VACATION). 2 a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done, esp. a religious festival, etc. 3 (attrib.) (of clothes etc.) festive. –v. intr. Esp. Brit. Spend a holiday. Holiday camp Brit. A camp for holiday-makers with accommodation, entertainment and facilities on site. Holiday centre a place with many tourist attractions. Holiday-maker esp. Brit. A person on holiday . On holiday (or one’s holidays ) in the course of one’s holiday. Take a (or make ) holiday have a break from work. (OE haligdaeg ) (HOLY, DAY)