(upbeat music) - Hello, hello, dear listener and welcome into IELTS speaking part three, tourism. Rory, are you excited to talk about tourism? - I'm not a big fan of tourism, but it is necessary and it is something that will probably come up. (upbeat music) - Why do people visit tourist attractions? - It's a very good question, to be honest. I suppose some people do it 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. - What makes a tourist attraction famous? - Sometimes it's something as simple as the fact that it's labeled 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. - Do local people like to visit local tourist attractions? - 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. - Do you think tourism damages the environment? - 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 of statues or carving things into walls to leave their mark. - Do you think tourism causes environmental change? - Beyond what I just mentioned, it might encourage positive attitudes to the environment of the experiences 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 done, isn't it? - How can people prevent the environmental damage caused by tourism? - Other than by ending it and removing the tourists, maybe by strictly enforcing rules designed to protect the local environment, using the money generated by tourists to help bolster the local ecology, that might make a difference. - Does mass tourism give fuel benefits to local communities? - 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 of all these strange people who are coming and photographing you without your consent and leaving garbage everywhere. This goes both ways though, the community might not have anything the tourists want. Even in the way of food of tourists just want mass produced foods like fast food, which they can get anywhere. - Should all tourist attractions be free to the public? - 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? (upbeat music) - Tourist attractions, or we call them sites, or popular places for tourists like in Paris, the Louisville, yeah? - Yeah. - In London, the big band, so tourist attractions. And these places are usually advertised as tourist attractions, so people go there. And other people go there to get a sense of the cultural or historical significance. Usually these places are, well, they have a lot of history behind them, so to feel this cultural and historical significance. These places are labeled as a tourist attraction. So they are called as an attraction, and the internet tells you to go there, so people go there, that's it. That's why they're famous. - That's it, really. It's just, you just go there because it's a tourist attraction. People say, oh, have you seen this tourist attraction? - Really, the internet tells you to go and visit the Louvre, the internet tells you like, okay, five must see places in London, and you just follow the internet. You kind of, yeah, it's interesting. Maybe you don't wanna go there, but you just do. So they are advertised, they are labeled as a must call places. - Yeah, it's weird how that works. And then it's a good idea to have some examples. It could be the significance of the place, culturally or historically, like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Yeah, because it does have this history behind it. Or mild rush more in the States, the Grand Canyon in the States. Some people just like such places because they're nice, they take photos, and they get a sense of the scale. So it's this massive Grand Canyon to feel, a sense of the scale. Scale is like how massive, how big something is. Local people can visit local tourist attractions if they are holding some interesting events, to hold events, or if such events are of value. So if the locals are into the events, if they like this event, if they appreciate such events, they might go for the commercial opportunities, like selling things to tourists, using tourists for money. - Well, her best to say this. - Yeah, locals use tourists for money. - You've gotta make money somehow. - Yeah, exactly, so kind of tourists are the meat for some people. Yum, yum, yum. They give them money, so yeah. And notice how Roy says it. Locals might go there, they'll like go to tourist attractions, for the commercial opportunities, just to make money out of tourists, to milk tourists like we milk cows. But it's not very nice to say. - It's not, so perhaps to contribute to the local economy would be better. - Tourism can damage the environment. And we'll talk about international tourism, mass tourism, yeah, with the buses full of tourists. So tourists move around. Usually by bus or by car and the emissions from the vehicles could be harmful emissions, the harmful gases from a car or from a bus. Tourists can vandalize buildings, so vandalism could be a problem. Is this, well, it's a crime, vandalism, yeah, it's a crime. When tourists destroy buildings like one tourist, take a small stone and then like 15,000 tourists, take a small stone and then there is no building left, yum? This is what we usually hear from different people, guides. - Mm, well, I don't know. Is it a crime to vandalize buildings? In some countries. - Yeah, but if kind of like you go to the Louvre and then you draw, I don't know, graffiti on the Louvre, I think it's vandalism. Like the building could be old, like an old cathedral, for example, UNESCO Place. - Yeah, that's true. Either way, we shouldn't damage things which are tourist attractions because it harms the local economy. - So yeah, you can say that tourists are involved in vandalism or they commit acts of vandalism, or what do you say? - Both, you can be involved in vandalism if you're a part of it, but you can also commit vandalism. - Also all the trash that gets left behind. So tourists are everywhere, what do they do? They leave that trash, rubbish or litter, they litter. They throw out trash on the streets. - They can, I don't think it's all tourists, but they certainly can. - Also, some tourists could break things off statues, for example, or carve into walls to leave their marks. You know, like I was here, 2020. - That's not a good look. There's this ancient building in Erbil, which is a city in the north of Iraq. And it's one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings on the planet. It's like about 5,000 years old. And people have carved their names into the structure of the building. And it's like, if you keep doing that, you are going to destroy this monument, and there's almost nothing left of it. And oh, it's so sad. - And you know, it's like everywhere. I think like in any country you go to, you'll see this, like trash, carvings, and all this jazz, you know, dawishina. - Yeah, in some ways I get it, because, you know, it's nice to be a part of things. And people have done this throughout history and time. But, I mean, there must be a way of doing it with it's more responsible, and less damaging to the actual piece of history as well. - Well, we should change people's attitude, yeah. So, I like Rory's solution, removing the tourists. They can remove the tourists, and no damage, no trash. Everything will be safe. - Obviously, this is a very extreme option. - Strictly enforce rules designed to protect the local environment. Okay, so the government should enforce strict rules to protect the local environment. And money which is generated by tourists should be used to protect the local ecology, or bolster the local ecology. What is bolster? - Yeah, to prop up. Or, well, to prop up is just to support, or, no, I think support is the best word, to support the local economy. - We talk about mass tourism, Deliz. We don't talk about, like, travelers, who are usually aware of these things, and who kind of contributes to the economy, rather than destroying different statues and walls. - Main tourism does contribute to local economies, but do they really? - Well, it could. But the thing is that the community has something to offer, well, should have something to offer, and also the tourists should want to take advantage of that kind of thing as well. So, if this relationship does not exist, then it's hard to see how it would happen. - So, the tourists should behave, and also the community should be friendly. And an example here is, like, you might not be terribly thrilled, you might not be happy if thousands of tourists were coming and photographing you without your consent, which usually happens when tourists go to a small village, they start taking photos of everything, and people live there, it's their houses, even if kind of they are old and they are a piece of art, but still it's their houses. And very often just people take photographs, even if they see a sign, like no photos, they still kind of do. Take photos. Living garbage everywhere, live in their trash. So, an interesting idea is that it goes both ways. So, the community and tourists work together. - Or attempt to. - Rory thinks tourist attractions should not be free, so some of them should not be free. - No, nothing's free. - Nothing is free. - Nothing's free. So, funding will probably come out of people's taxes. - Mm-hmm. - Wallika, yes, some places should be funded by tourists. So, if they damage the place, they should pay, okay? So, actually, maybe tourists think that they've paid to come in, so they can just leave their stuff. - Yeah, they can do it. I've paid for it, you know, I've paid for my interest, so I can touch all the statues, I can leave my trash, so you kind of, you take care of it, because I've paid you. Oh, maybe you kind of, some people think like this. - Mm, wait, I imagine they do, but they would be wrong. - Yeah, no, it's all very nice. So, tourists benefit from visiting. Different attractions, from visiting different sites, so they can, they should pay, okay? There is, how are you doing? Are you okay? - Do you hate tourists now? - Are you also annoyed by crazy tourists? - Yeah, and by crazy tourists, I mean, like, you know, like mass tourism, this buses of crazy people, and usually there a bit, you know. Crazy, yeah, once in Italy, I saw a signature, like, tourists go home, travelers are welcome. - I mean, I don't see, that's a particularly bad thing, to be honest, if you're just destroying the local environment and economy. - Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye! - Bye! (upbeat music) - Why do people visit tourist attractions? - It's a very good question, to be honest. I suppose some people do it 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, the others will go there to get a sense of the cultural or historical significance of such a place. - What makes a tourist attraction famous? - Sometimes it's something as simple as the fact that it's labeled 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. - Do local people like to visit local tourist attractions? - 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. - Do you think tourism damages the environment? - 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. - Do you think tourism causes environmental change? - 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 done, isn't it? - How can people prevent the environmental damage caused by tourism? - Other than by ending it and removing the tourists, maybe by strictly enforcing rules designed to protect the local environment, using the money generated by tourists to help bolster the local ecology, that might make a difference. - Does mass tourism give few benefits to local communities? - 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 of all these strange people who are coming and photographing you without your consent and leaving garbage everywhere. This goes both ways though, the community might not have anything the tourists want, even in the way of food of tourists, just want mass produced foods like fast food, which they can get anywhere. - Should all tourist attractions be free to the public? - 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? (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
