Text 4. International tourism

Study the text and do the tasks given below.

 

Vocabulary:

1 pilgrimage - основание

2 Canterbury Tales - "Кентерберийские рассказы" (знаменитое произведение Джеффри Чосера) [Geoffrey Chaucer, 1340?-1400]

3 bound - обязанный, связанный обязательством

4 to undertake - предпринимать, совершать

5 nobility - дворянство

6 gentry - джентри (мелкое и среднее дворянство)

7 curious - любопытный

8 to appeal to - привлекать, притягивать

9 to wane - убывать, уменьшать, снижаться

10 to revive – возрождать

11 to sample - пробовать на вкус, дегустировать

12 austerity - строгость

13 devaluation – обесценивание

14 standard of living - жизненный уровень, уровень жизни; материальное благосостояние

15 concomitant - сопутствующий, сопровождающий

 

The history of European tourism can perhaps be said to originate with the medieval pilgrimage. Although undertaken primarily for religious reasons, the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales quite clearly saw the experience as a kind of holiday (the term itself being derived from the 'holy day' and its associated leisure activities). Pilgrimages created a variety of tourist aspects that still exist - bringing back souvenirs, obtaining credit with foreign banks (in medieval times utilizing international networks established by Jews and Lombards), and making use of space available on existing forms of transport (such as the use of medieval English wine ships bound for Vigo by pilgrims to Santiago De Compostela). Pilgrimages are still important in modern tourism - such as to Lourdes or Knock in Ireland. But there are secular equivalents - Graceland and the grave of Jim Morrison in Père Lachaise Cemetery.

During the 17th century, it became fashionable in England to undertake a Grand Tour. The sons of the nobility and gentry were sent upon an extended tour of Europe as an educational experience. The 19th century was the golden age of the Grand Tour, and many of the fashionable visitors were painted at Rome by Pompeo Batoni. A modern equivalent of the Grand Tour is the phenomenon of the backpacker, although cultural holidays, such as those offered by Swann-Hellenic, are also important.

For a century, domestic tourism was the norm, with foreign travel being reserved for the rich or the culturally curious. A number of inland destinations, such as the English Lake District, and Snowdonia appealed to those who liked the countryside and fine scenery. The holiday camp began to appear in the 1930s, but this phenomenon really expanded in the post-war period. Butlins and Pontins set this trend, but their popularity waned with the rise of overseas package tours and the increasing comforts to which visitors became accustomed at home. Towards the end of the 20th century this market has been revived by the upmarket inland resorts of Dutch company Center Parcs.

Vladimir Raitz pioneered modern package tourism when on 20 May 1950 his recently founded company, Horizon, provided arrangements for a two-week holiday in Corsica. For an all inclusive price of £32.10s.-, holiday makers could sleep under canvas, sample local wines and eat a meal containing meat twice a day - this was especially attractive due to the continuing austerity measures in post-war United Kingdom. Within ten years, his company had started mass tourism to Palma (1952), Lourdes (1953), Costa Brava (1954), Sardinia (1954), Minorca (1955), Porto (1956), Costa Blanca (1957) and Costa del Sol (1959).

Another significant development also happened at the end of this decade. The devaluation of the Spanish peseta made Spain appear a particularly attractive destination. The cheapness of the cost of living attracted increasing numbers of visitors. Mass package tourism has at times been an exploitative process, in which tour operators in a country with a high standard of living make use of development opportunities and low operating costs in a country with a lower standard of living. However, as witness the development of many tourist areas in previously poor parts of the world, and the concomitant rise in standards of living, when there is equality of bargaining power, both parties can gain economic benefits from this arrangement.

Spain and the Balearic Islands became major tourist destinations, and development probably peaked in the 1980s. At the same time, British tour operators developed the Algarve in Portugal. The continuing search for new, cheaper, destinations spread mass tourism to the Greek Islands, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey, and more recently Croatia.

For someone living in greater London, Venice today is almost as accessible as Brighton was 100 years ago. Consequently, the British seaside resort experienced a marked decline from the 1970s onwards. Some, such as New Brighton, Merseyside have disappeared. Others have reinvented themselves, and now cater to daytrippers, the weekend break market or business conferences.

 

Text work

1. Give Russian equivalents:

1 to originate with the medieval pilgrimage

2 undertaken primarily for religious reasons

3 the phenomenon of the backpacker

4 reserved for the rich

5 inland destinations

6 expanded in the post-war period

7 the rise of overseas package tours

8 to sleep under canvas

9 to sample local wines

10 to gain economic benefits

 

2. Find antonyms to the following words:

1 in the second place

2 vaguely

3 monotony, sameness

4 inaccessible

5 international tourism

6 poor

7 decreasing

8 insignificant

9 expenses

10 rise

3. Read and translate the following groups of words derived from a common root:

1 to derive – derivation – derived – deriving – derivative – derivatively

2 to exist – existence – existing – existential – existent – existentialism – existentially – existentialist

3 to exploit – exploitation – exploitative – exploitatory – exploited – exploiting – exploiter

4 to develop – development – developing – developed – developer

5 to invent – to reinvent – invention – inventor – inventive – inventively

 

4. Answer the questions:

1 When did international tourism appear?

2 What were the original aims of traveling?

3 Why do you think pilgrimages are still important in modern tourism?

4 Who undertook grand tours in the 17^th century?

5 When did modern package tourism appear?

6 Why was mass package tourism an exploitative process?

7 What benefits can one gain from tourism?

8 What are the main tourist destinations nowadays?

9 Do you think that modern tourism (both domestic and international) has only advantages? Why or why not?

10 What tourism attracts you most: domestic or international? Why?

 

5. Work with a partner. Student A wants to travel abroad and student B wishes to travel about our country. But you have to start a tour together. Discuss advantages and disadvantages of both types of tourism and come to an agreement. Use the following phrases to express your opinions:

 

For agreement For disagreement

1 I’m all for it 1 Sorry, but I prefer...

2 I can’t agree more 2 I would better...

3 May be you are right 3 I don’t like this idea

4 I need to think it over 4 To tell the truth, I don’t want to..

5 You are quite right 5 To my mind it’s rather difficult

 

6. Project work

Look at the given pictures. Here are some examples of international tourist destinations. Choose the one you like most, find some information about this destination (geographical position, the capital of the country, the main places of interest, attractions, traditions and customs, national language, and so on) and present it to your groupmates without naming this destination. They should try to guess.

 

1 2

All Giza Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt Neuschwanstein Castle, Füssen, Germany

 

 

3 4

Niagara Falls, United States-Canada border. Great Wall of China, People's Republic of China

 

 

5 6

Disneyland, Tokyo, Japan Times Square, New York City, United States

 

 

7 8

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Сhapter 2. Types of tourism

Lead-in

Group talk: Discuss with your partner the following questions.

1. Do you prefer active type of rest?

2. How do you usually spend your time during your holidays?

3. What company do you prefer: family, friends or new people?