Tourism in the 21st Century http://www.hotelmule.com/management/html/59/59-1351.html#xspace-tracks Pre-reading questions 1) Do you like traveling? Why yes/no? 2) Which distant places would you like to visit? 3) Do you think tourism is important in the 21st century? Why? 4) Would you like to be a tour guide? Why yes/no? 5) Is better to travel with a tour guide or alone? Why? 6) Which qualities do you think a good tour guide should have? Reading. 1) In your pairs, try to explain the meaning of these words. itinerary globalization entrepreneurs shrines destination expertise wildlife predominate escorts slump 2) Answer these questions a) What do the numbers given in the first paragraph show? b) What does the writer say about employment and travel industry? c) How has globalization influenced tourism? d) Who are destination-tour operators? What does the future hold for the Travel Tourism Industry? The economics of the 21st century will be dominated by three industries: information technology, telecommunications, and tourism. The travel and tourism industries have grown by 500% in the last 25 years, and it is estimated that by the year 2007 tourists will spend $884 billion in foreign countries on tourism related activities. (Source: The World Travel and Tourism Council). Future Careers and Business Opportunities Because the tourism industry has been experiencing a boom time, it is in desperate need of qualified tourism professionals. Tourism is one of the few industries that can offer exciting, challenging, and varied careers. Opportunities for small businesses are growing at an impressive rate. In 2005, an additional 130 million new tourism jobs are being created around the world, with over 400 different types of employment and business opportunities. Tourism presents an excellent opportunity for new entrepreneurs! The travel industry is the largest employer in over 33 states in the USA and has spawned a new quasi-political profession of destination-tour operators. The travel-tourism industry has shown over the years that it has the ability to generate new business opportunities when the rest of the economy is in a slump. For that reason alone, travel-tourism is now considered the nation’s third-largest retail sales industry and the second-largest private employer (Source: TIA Foundation). It is no wonder that travel is now the biggest consumer category on the World Wide Web. Globalization has changed the orientation of companies in response to falling barriers and borders, which have opened new career/business opportunities. Responsibilities of a Professional Tour Guide 3) Read the second part of the text and list what responsibilities the Tour Guides have. .............................................................. .................................................................... ............................................................. .................................................................... ............................................................ ................................................................... Early travelers were often accompanied by guides who had become familiar with the routes of earlier trips. When leisure travel became more commonplace in the 19th century, women and young children were not expected to travel alone, so relatives or house servants often acted as companions. Today, tour guides act as escorts for people visiting foreign countries and provide them with additional information on interesting facets of life in another part of the world. In a way, tour guides have taken the place of the early scouts, acting as experts in setting and situations that other people find unfamiliar. Tour guides act as a link between the visitor and the area and its people. They try to ensure that the tour will be enjoyable and as safe as possible. Tour guides are the source of interesting information about the area visited. They should be prepared to answer all sorts of questions from details about local history, flora, activities in the area, wildlife, and where to dine. People who sign up for a tour often do so because of the presumed expertise of the tour company and the tour director. Consequently, they expect some evidence of this upon arrival at their destination. A tour guide is often hired by a tour operator, travel agency, special interest group, or other groups of people with a similar interest in mind. Tour guides are trained in their work; schooled in the history and culture of the country, city, or town; and are familiar with all aspects of transportation and dining. Also, being at least a semi-skilled storyteller and entertainer makes the job of the tour guide run much smoother. The tour guide is responsible to the tour director in charge of the tour. Obviously, the latter would be foolish to ignore the advice of someone more familiar with the country. Many cities and prime tourist areas have registered, qualified guides. These guides, who are deep into the history, culture, and ecology of their areas, can get a lot said and done in a short period of time. Their knowledge of parking areas and the most efficient way to process large groups through heavily populated attractions can often save lots of time. Major United States and international European cities are places where local tour guides predominate. Throughout the tour, there should be a good working relationship between the tour guide and the tour director. The partnership can make things easier for both parties as well as for the tour members. While tour guides’ primary functions are educational and social, they may also share managerial responsibilities, such as hotel check-in and setting up special events and dine-around programs. The tour itinerary is usually locked into a set schedule, but the tour director and tour guide can make last minute changes if the original itinerary focuses too much on cathedrals and shrines and not enough on other historic places. Perhaps the tour guide overestimates the knowledge of the tour group, or perhaps the tour members have some special interest, such as local art or agriculture that should be taken into consideration. 4) Collocations Cross out the noun(s) on the left which do not collocate with the adjective. 1. a semi-skilled entertainer, visitor, attraction 2. managerial skills, decisions, cars 3. an efficient tour, secretary, teacher 4. a historic occasion, film, event 5. a local knowledge, time, leisure