📘 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!

Discussion

M: Tourist attractions or we call them sites. Well, popular places for tourists, like in Paris, the Louvre. Yeah?

R: Yeah.

M: In London, the Big Ben. 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. Because usually these places are, well, they have a lot of history behind them. So to feel this cultural and historical significance. These places are labelled as tourist attractions. So they are called an attraction, and the internet tells you to go there. So people go there. That's it. That's why they're famous.

R: That's it, really. It's just, you just go there because it's a tourist attraction. And people say, oh, have you seen this tourist attraction?

M: Really. Like 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 want to go there, but you just do. So they are advertised. They are labelled as must-go places.

R: Yeah. It's weird how that works.

M: 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 Mount Rushmore in the States, the Grand Canyon in the States. Some people just like such places because they are nice, they take photos, and they get a sense of the scale. So like 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 these events, if they appreciate such events. They might go for commercial opportunities, like selling things to tourists, or using tourists for money.

R: Well, how best to say this...

M: Yeah, locals use tourists for money.

R: You've got to make money somehow.

M: Yeah, exactly. So kind of tourists are the meat for some people. Yum, yum, yum. They give them money. So yeah. And notice how it always says it. Locals might go there. There? 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.

R: It's not, so perhaps contributing to the local economy would be better.

M: Tourism can damage the environment.

R: And we 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? Yeah, it is a crime. When tourists destroy buildings, one tourist takes a small stone and then like 15,000 tourists take a small stone and then there is no building left. Yeah? This is what we usually hear from different people and guides.

R: Well, I don't know. Is it a crime to vandalize buildings in some countries?

M: Yeah. But if kind of like you go to, I don't know, the Louvre. And then you draw, I don't know, graffiti on the Louvre, I think it's vandalism. The building could be old, like an old cathedral, for example. UNESCO place.

R: Yeah, that's true. Either way, we shouldn't damage things, which are tourist attractions, because it harms the local economy.

M: So yeah, you can say that tourists are involved in vandalism or they commit acts of vandalism or what do we say?

R: Both. You can be involved in vandalism if you're a part of it, but you can also commit vandalism.

M: Also all the trash that gets left behind. So tourists are everywhere. What do they do? They leave their trash, rubbish or litter. They litter, and they throw out trash on the streets.

R: They can. I don't think it's all tourists but they certainly can.

M: Also some tourists could break things off statues, for example. Or carve into walls to leave their marks, you know, like "I was here 2024".

R: 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 most, it's one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings on the planet. It's like about 5000 years old. And people have carved their names into the structure of the building. And I was 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.

M: And you know, it's like everywhere. I think like in any country you go to, you will see this, like trash and carvings. And all this jazz. You know, dear listener?

R: 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 that's more responsible and less damaging to the actual piece of history as well.

M: Well, we should change people's attitude. Yeah. So, I like Rory's solution, removing the tourists. Okay? Remove the tourists and no damage, no trash, everything will be safe.

R: Obviously, this is a very extreme option.

M: 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?

R: 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.

M: We talk about mass tourism, dear listener. We don't talk about travellers who are usually aware of these things and who kind of, who contribute to the economy, rather than destroying different statues and walls. Mass tourism does contribute to local economies, but do they really?

R: 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 1000s of tourists were coming and photographing you without your consent. This 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're 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. Leaving garbage everywhere, leaving their trash. So an interesting idea is that it goes both ways. So the community and tourists, like to work together.

R: Or attempt to.

M: Rory thinks tourist attractions should not be free. So some of them should not be free.

R: Well, nothing's free.

M; Nothing is free. Nothing is free. So funding will probably come out of people's taxes. Or like, yeah, 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.

R: Do what they like.

M: Yeah, they could do what they like. I've paid for it. You know, I've paid for my entrance. So I can touch all the statues, I can leave my trash, so you can kind of, you take care of it because I've paid you. Well, maybe kind of some people think like this.

R: I imagined they do. But they would be wrong.

M: Yeah. It's not very nice. So tourists benefit from visiting different attractions, from visiting different sites. So they can, they should pay. Okay? Dear listener, how are you doing? Are you okay?

R: Do you hate tourists now?

M: Are you also annoyed by crazy tourists? Yeah. And by crazy tourists, I mean, like, you know, like mass tourism, these buses of crazy people. And usually, they're a bit, you know, crazy. Yeah. Once in Italy, I saw a signature like, tourists go home, travellers are welcome.

R: I mean, I don't see that that's a particularly bad thing, to be honest, if you're just destroying the local environment and economy.

M: Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode! Bye!

R: Bye!

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