General Topic Information
Tourism plays an important role in building understanding between nations and individuals. Visiting other countries can lead to an appreciation of the local culture and helps build relationships between people leading to a better mutual understanding and a higher level of tolerance.
Tourism questions usually focus on two key areas, whether locals should allow for cultural differences or whether tourists should conform to local customs or the impact that tourism has on the local culture and environment.
Tourism is important for many countries because it is a key industry that provides a great deal of income and supports many businesses. When questions around whether locals should adjust to tourists and show greater tolerance to tourists or whether tourists should conform to local customs arise, it is clear that both locals and tourists need to make adjustments. Tourists may not understand all aspects of the culture of countries that they visit but need to ensure that they understand that they are guests and should behave accordingly. They need to ensure that they understand and comply with laws. Locals need to make sure that they are also tolerant of tourist’s misunderstandings and need to make allowances for them.
Further questions focus on the impact of tourism on local culture. Tourism has the potential to damage important cultural sites and the environment. It is important that historical and scenic sites are protected for future generations, but at the same time tourists should be given access to sites to support local economies.
Tourism also has a role to play in helping counties develop. It is a major industry that often plays a critical role in providing income to poorer nations. Tourism also supports local culture because visitors to other countries are often interested in local culture. This interest supports local handicrafts, performance and architecture and can lead to its preservation.
Topic Vocabulary
Tolerant – Tolerant describes a person who shows understanding towards other people.
Historical and Scenic Sites – These are sites of natural beauty or cultural or historical importance.
Sample Essay – Tourist Behaviour
Some people think that visitors to other countries should obey local customs and behaviours. While other people disagree and think that the host country should welcome cultural differences.
Discuss both these views and give your opinion.
In order to better understand the people of other countries it is important that both tourists and locals should show respect and tolerance for each other. It is very important that tourists respect local cultures as they are representatives of their nation, are guests and could face legal consequences if they breach local laws. However, it is also important that locals are tolerant of tourists in order to develop good relationships and because they support the local economy. In this essay the importance of showing respect for other people and cultures will be discussed.
When tourists travel overseas they are freed from the normal restraints of home and may behave in a manner that is offensive to locals. Tourists are both representatives of their country and guests. Poor behaviour will often reflect poorly on both themselves as individuals and their nation as a whole. It is also important that all people show respect for others at all times.
Failure to show at least a minimum level of respect to others can also have legal consequences and result in heavy punishment. It is prudent to show a higher level of care when travelling overseas as laws may be very different and tourists may not understand the full implications of their actions. As far as possible, it is probably a good idea to stay within cultural norms when visiting other countries as doing so also means showing a high level of respect and is likely to lead to a positive experience for everyone.
However, local citizens should also remember they are hosts and should show some tolerance towards a lack of cultural understanding and local knowledge. Tourists support the local economy and assisting them and providing a friendly and respectful environment, including respecting their culture, is also important in supporting the relationship between people as well as the tourist industry.
In summary, showing respect and tolerance towards all people is the best way of maintaining a friendly and positive environment for all.
Essay Notes
The question invites the reader to choose that the responsibility for good relations reside only with one side. This is a common trap for students because they do not have to choose one side or the other. If they do the quality of their answer is likely to be negatively affected. The question also refers to visitors from other countries and these should be referred to as tourists. It is common that questions contain a definition of a word rather than the correct word. The question presents no particular difficulty from a cultural or ideas perspective.
The introduction contains four sentences. The first sentence tells the reader the topic and the reason why it is important. In this instance the reason is given before the topic rather than the other way around. The second and third sentences contain the main ideas, which are presented in the order that they appear in the introduction and define the high level structure of the essay. There are two ideas sentences because the argument has been broken into two logical parts, tourists and locals. The fourth sentence is a thesis statement, which outlines the aim of the essay. It should be noted that all key elements of the essay are presented in the introduction, which prepares the reader for the content in the body. As a result, the reader is not likely to become confused about the direction of the essay.
The body contains three paragraphs. The first two describe the manner in which tourists should behave towards the host country and citizens. The third describes the way in which locals should treat tourists.
This essay is unusual in that it contains no examples. There is no difficulty with this approach as academic essays are focused on ideas and can stand alone without examples.
The conclusion is a single sentence that covers the only the main theme of the essay, which is that all people should show respect for others.
Essay Vocabulary
Tourists – The question refers to people who visit other countries.
Tolerance – Tolerance is a very formal word and refers to the ability to show understanding to others and to allow for differences. It is a positive quality often associated with people who are highly educated and cultured who appreciate diversity.
Implications – A useful formal word that refers to the consequences of an event.
Prudent – Prudent refers to being both careful and wise in choices and approaches to problems.