📘 Part 3: Tourism

This episode's vocabulary

Significance (noun) - importance.

Label (noun) - a word or a phrase that is used to describe the characteristics or qualities of people, activities, or things, often in a way that is unfair.

To label (verb) - to fasten a label to.

Express (adj.) - if you refer to an express intention or purpose, you are emphasizing that it is a deliberate and specific one that you have before you do something.

Vandalism (noun) - the crime of intentionally damaging property belonging to other people

To carve (verb) - to make something by cutting into esp. wood or stone, or to cut into the surface of stone, wood, etc.

Mark (noun) - a symbol that is used for giving information.

Messaging (noun) - the process of telling people about something that you want to talk about or want people to know about.

To enforce (verb) - to make people obey a law, or to make a particular situation happen or be accepted.

To bolster (verb) - to support or improve something or make it stronger.

Thrilled (adj.) - extremely happy about something.

Funding (noun) - money given by a government or organization for an event or activity.

Questions and Answers

M: Why do people visit tourist attractions?

R: It's a very good question, to be honest. I suppose some people do just because really. Places advertised as tourist attractions are pretty much there for the tourists and little else. It's an odd cycle. I imagine though that others will go there to get a sense of the cultural or historical significance of such a place. I think those are the two main reasons, people really think critically about these things.

M: What makes a tourist attraction famous?

R: Sometimes it's something as simple as the fact that it's labelled as a tourist attraction, and people go there for that express purpose. But for others, it could be the significance of the place culturally or historically like the Eiffel Tower or Mount Rushmore. Others might like it just because it's a nice place to take photos or get a sense of the scale of something, like the Grand Canyon.

M: Do local people like to visit local tourist attractions?

R: I mean, I would guess so, assuming they hold interesting events or something else of value there. Even if they don't, they might just go for the commercial opportunities, like selling things to tourists. I could see how they might dislike it, though, if it ruins the local environment, atmosphere and economy.

M: Do you think tourism damages the environment?

R: Oh, yes, absolutely. Even if we discount things like international tourism, tourists still have to move around somehow. And this is usually by car or bus. And the emissions from those can be harmful. Then there's all the trash that gets left behind in the wake of any group of people and all the vandalism that might take place if they are breaking things off statues or carving things into walls to leave their mark.

M: Do you think tourism causes environmental change?

R: Beyond what I just mentioned, it might encourage positive attitudes to the environment if the experience is designed in a way to encourage that, but tourists would need to be in the place to get that messaging. So at that point, the damage is already turned, isn't it?

M: How can people prevent the environmental damage caused by tourism?

R: Other than by ending it and removing the tourists? Maybe by strictly enforcing rules designed to protect the local environment and using the money generated by tourists to help bolster the local ecology? That might make a difference.

M: Does mass tourism give few benefits to local communities?

R: It certainly might if the community is unable or unwilling to support the incoming tourists which is their right. You might not be terribly thrilled if all these strange people were coming and photographing you without your consent and leaving garbage everywhere. This goes both ways, though. The community might not have anything that tourists want. Even in the way of food. If tourists just want mass-produced food, like fast food, which they can get anywhere.

M: Should all tourist attractions be free to the public?

R: No, they shouldn't. For one, nothing is free, so the funding will have to come out of people's taxes or similar contributions. It surely makes more sense for tourists to pay for this kind of thing since they are the ones benefiting from it, right?

M: Hey, thank you, Rory!