Reading “VOCABULARY: Negatives and positives, =:2::snssnosaqusenesesnnear een rensanSaS oS IEA TO Ta Match each negative word to its 1b Complete the sentences with words from 1a in the opposite. correct form. 1 slam a growth 1. The increase in rent means that families can no 2 teen epee longer afford to live in the area, oo aaens 2 Investing in better transport would be for everyone. aueeined ean 3. Some people live in suburbs instead of the expensive city so 5. detrimental @ unconcerned - cee ® cae any ee aa the needs and opinions of the people, the city Soe SSlesvmteinante decided to double the price of bus tickets. 7 hostile 9 better off 8 ruin h friendly | cae a a ER SE a A 2 READING Read the review quickly. Which sentence 3. The reviewer cites Robert Byron in order to .. (A-C) provides the best summary of it? a support the idea that tourists and destinations: A Tourism companies should do more to keep their have always used each other to their advantage. customers happy. b imply that Becker has taken some ideas from Tei Sea ESELe a AUESES Of pias for others who have written within the travel genre. aS nuiee HER Taw oo ¢_ illustrate the fact that overseas visitors rarely understand the nature of a place visited briefly Aa ems a oud be d_ make the point that tourist behaviour has always SuLESesyigovemments been portrayed in a negative light. 4 What is the reviewer doing in the fourth paragraph? highlighting tourism-related issues which must take priority over others ‘emphasising the role of individuals in protesting against unfair practices ‘© questioning the practical application of some of Becker's solutions Although it's a good idea to use your general knowledge to help you follow the ideas in the text, Z you must still ead the text carefully > EXAM SUCCESS page 128 3 Read the review again and choose the best answers. d_ applauding Beckers directness and clear thinking 1__In the first paragraph, what does the reviewer 5. Inthe final paragraph, the writer argues that the US doesn’t need advertising to attract tourists controls at US borders are necessarily strict. investment is needed to promote US destinations. tourism is a highly political matter in the US. suggest about Becker's choice of places to visit? a She would have been aware of the degree of risk involved in visiting some of them. b Some would have told her more than others about the workings of the tourism business. They would probably be attractive to much of 4 her audience d_ tis stiking that some she selected have very few negative issues connected to tourism. ance Think! Then compare ideas with your class. = How far do you agree with each of the four comments? Why? 2 What point does the reviewer make about Becker's critical perspective in the second paragraph? a She occasionally breaks off to discuss things not directly connected to tourism. b She should discover more about a particular culture before passing judgment on it 6 (SPEIKG What about you? € She sometimes focusses on minor points and How do you think tourism might change in the future? ignores more fundamental ones. d She at least attacks a range of countries. 5 What do the sd words in the article mean? Guess and then check in your dictionary.eect Tourism in the spotlight Overbooked, by Elizabeth Becker About a tenth of the world economy is devoted fo tourism and travel, and for her exposé of the travel industry's dark side, author and journalist Elizabeth Becker has travelled on behalf of readers to destinations where many no doubt would head only they had the means. Overbooked sees her in Bordeaux and Venice, on luxury safaris in Zambia, at ‘cooking classes in Bangkok and - proving that she has nat lost the taste for self-punishing reportage that she established as a Washington Post war respondent in the 1970s ~ attending a succession of mind-numbing tourism industry conferences. For most places, she presents a brief, unsurprising ‘ravelogue (pizza in Italy, ions in Africa) to sweeten her rather depressing analysis: namely that when unregulated, the travel industry S mote likely to run than enhance what it seeks to promote. “Tourism turns out to be the top single revenue source in countries as diverse as France and Thailand, according to Becker. Overbooked sams pretty ‘much all countries for messing up their tourism in ways both large and smal. Were it not for Venice's relaxed policy on the number of tourists it admits, for ‘example, it wouldn't have found itself sinking into the Aciiatic over the last few decades. For this lack of foresight, it gets the thumbs down. Becker criticises a umber of nations for clearing vilages to build hotels. She reproaches other countries and their visitors for condoning the practice of employing people, but denying ther basic workers’ rights. And so that ‘no-one could question her even-handed approach, sshe extends her erticism into intemational waters to Convict cruise ships of underpaying cabin stewards and waiters while pumping sewage into the sea Becker's corternnation is this: tourists enjoy a Glorious reputation nowhere; they don't work, they leave before they make friends, and Bermuda shorts flatter no-one. As the travel writer Robert Byron ‘observed in the 1930s, tourists may be seen as ‘a parasitic variation of the human species’. And yet, the host countries they visit continue to welcome 58 Comments ther with open arms. If there is exploitation, atleast itis mutual. Many places Becker names are in fact the envy (of their regions, and tourism there is mostly a bounty, ‘even for the poor. Countries suffering from over-tourism are, needless to say, far better off economically than ‘ones that nobody wants to vist. f the tourism industry had never sprung up, there would be fewer opportunities for others to take advantage of it and make a living from experience-seeking tourists ‘The author offers up the same solution to nearly all the aripes she identifies: shaming and better regulation. ‘Venice should limit tourism and protect its local grocers land bakers from large chains of supermarkets. Countries troubled by corruption should eliminate it to protect their poor and ensure that tourism dollars, often in the billions, trickle down and reach those people who need them most, And those extremely wealthy countries? Well, they should be forced by the weight of public opinion to provide for the welfare oftheir foreign workers, who are ‘often not in a position to stand up for themselves. Some Of these proposals are obvious and could be realised relatively easily, but others — dealing with corruption, for instance — are infinitely more challenging Becker's prescription forthe United States is stil less satisfactory: This country has systematically defunded its tourism-promotion offices, she explains, and could reclaim its shrinking share of global tourism revenue by investing in them anew. (America apparently doesn't suffer from aver-tourism,) She parots the line of travel-industry lobbyists, who sensibly point out ‘that immigration lanes at US airports need reform, since they now have all the warmth and welcome of ‘the administration block of a all complex. But she also argues that to get ‘back in the game’, the US government should pay for overseas tourism offices land websites and sink money into something called the United Nations World Tourism Organization, which the US left during the late 1990s, to no discernible detriment. “Tourism propaganda might make sense for countries whose existence people might otherwise forget. Should anyone stil be ignorant of America, they probably won't lear about it by visiting its official website. ‘Tourism isn't always about exploitation. Ms Becker would know how vita tourism is to our economy ifshe had visited our Country. Perhaps we're a litle too far off the beaten track for her? But Id say the same is Becker's point about passing through US immigration is spot on. Last year we flew from Paris to Sydney. Had we thought for one moment that it would take three hours to get through customs in Los Angeles, we would have chosen a different route, Never again! But the comments about Venice true for many countries; tourism is a major export, and thousands of jobs depend on it. are unfounded - sure i's busy, but that's what ‘makes it so dynamic. It's the people (both locals and = Visitors) that make a place worth visiting, Becker's argument sounds rather one- sided. Sometimes tourist dollars can be put to good use. If local governments hadn't ‘been pushing ecotourism in Africa and ‘South America over the last few decades, a ‘number of species would be extinct by now. ‘A safari in Kenya was just about the best ‘experience I've ever had ~ awesome guides ‘and spectacular scenery. New hotels have totally uined the natural coastline near my home. But iit wasn't for the development of the resort, we'd never have persuaded the ‘government to invest in our roads. The motorway that now connects the resort to the city has halved travel time. Tourism can and does improve the infrastructure of a country. Lewis Roberts otis