THE ORIGINS OF MASS TOURISM

 

     In the late eighteenth century, sea water gained a reputation for its medicinal properties and as a result many British coastal fishing villages were transformed into fashionable resorts. Brighton and Weymouth both became popular with genteel holidaymakers after George III paid them a visit to try and cure the fits of madness from which he suffered. The earliest organisation of anything that we would recognize today as tourism started in the mid-nineteenth century. Thomas Cook is historically credited with organizing the first ever tourist excursion in 1841 when he sold tickets for a train ride from Leicester to Loughborough as a means of promoting the Temperance cause. Methodist missionary Henry Lunn pioneered the skiing holiday just a few years later.

     It was the Industrial Revolution that really began to open up tourism to the working classes. As a result of the widespread social and technological reforms a new middle class grew up, whose increased prosperity meant that they could afford to travel. The Bank Holiday Act of Parliament in 1871, creating four annual public holidays and the Factory Act of 1901, which gave the first ever paid annual holiday allowance of six days, provided the necessary legislation to give the working British public leisure time at no financial loss.

     The new railways provided cheap travel to seaside resorts such as Scarborough and Blackpool. Public holidays would see a mass exodus from the large cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds to the coast for people to be entertained at fun-fairs and shows catering to the tastes of the working man.

     People were also becoming aware of a world outside their own direct experience. Soldiers travelling to foreign countries saw opportunities and wanted to return in peacetime. The colonial era brought India, Australia, Africa and other parts of the world into the spotlight of the European colonial powers. The advent of photography provided visual evidence of the existence of the exotic and began to stir interest among the more adventurous to see sights for themselves. The Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and the Sphinx and the Statue of Liberty are all examples of famous tourist attractions which we travel to see in real life because we've seen pictures of them.

     In only a century the holiday has changed beyond recognition. In 1890 a typical family holiday would be a day trip to the nearest seaside town. Armed with bucket and spade and a picnic, the family would take advantage of the half-a-crown cheap-day excursions offered by the private companies who ran the new railway network. The 1990s family, however, is far more likely to take a two-week package tour to the Mediterranean, where the whole holiday will be paid for before leaving home and one can enjoy the guaranteed sunshine.

     The Good Tourist', Wood, K. and House, S. (Mandarin) 1992

 

     1. Ответьте на вопросы. Выберите правильную букву А, В или С как ответ на вопрос:

1. Why are the two men’s names prominent?

1. Thomas Cook and Henry Lunn were friends

2. Thomas Cook pioneered the skiing holiday, Henry Lunn organized the first ever tourist excursion

3. Thomas Cook is known as an organizer of the first ever tourist excursion, Henry Lunn pioneered the skiing holiday

2. Why is it possible to say that tourism started in the mid-nineteenth century?

A. The beginning of the tourism in the mid-nineteenth century is connected with the names of Thomas Cook and Henry Lunn (1841, 1845)

B. Tourism started in the mid-nineteenth century because Brighton and Weymouth became popular with holidaymakers

C. Tourism started in the mid-nineteenth century because of British coastal villages

            3. What was the most important benefit as the consequence of the two Parliament Acts of 1871, 1901?

A. The two Parliament Acts of 1871 and 1901 increased people’s prosperity.

B. The two Parliament Acts put the beginning to annual first ever paid Public Holidays

C. The two Parliament Acts of 1871, 1901 were the result of a mass exodus from large cities 

2. Согласуются ли следующие положения с информацией в прочитанных абзацах. Правильно укажите букву нужного ответа А,В или С.

(абзац  2)

А. The October Revolution began to open up tourism to working class

B. The October Revolution began to open up tourism to rich people

C. It was the industrial revolution that began to open up tourism to working class

(абзац  3)

1. It was very expensive to go by new railways
2. The new railways provided cheap travel
3. The new horse riding ways provided cheap travel

(абзац 5)

А. In 1890 a typical family holiday could take a two-week tour

B. In 1890 a typical family holiday would be a daytrip to London

C. In 1890 a typical family holiday would be a day trip to the nearest seaside town 

3. Укажите, в какой  последовательности  должны идти предложенный Вам части текста

А. Methodist missionary Henry Lunn

B. British fishing villages were transformed into resorts

C. Soldiers wanted to return in peacetime 

   4. Подберите информацию, являющуюся альтернативой  к данному утверждению: 

   In only a century the holiday has changed beyond recognition.

1. The holiday has changed in half a century

   B. The holiday has remained as it existed before

C. In only a century holiday makers did want to make trips. 

   5. Выберите правильный  заголовок для  каждого абзаца  текста из списка заголовков,  приведенных ниже:

№ 1

A. George III and tourism

B. Henry Lunn and holidays

C. How tourism started

№  2

A. Acts of Parliament

2. Middle class is growing up
3. Tourism after the Industrial Revolution

№ 3

1. World outside
2. Opportunities of tourism
3. Examples of tourist attractions

 
          

6. Верны ли следующие утверждения  согласно тексту:

 
 
 
 

1. Brighton and Weymouth both became popular with genteel holidaymakers after George III banned other resorts.
2. Act of Parliament of 1901 gave the first ever paid annual holiday allowance of six days
3. The Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and the Sphinx and the Statue of Liberty are all examples of famous tourist attractions which we travel to see in real life because we've heard a lot about them, but have never seen them.
4. In a century the image of a standard holiday hasn’t changed at all.
5. Soldiers travelling to foreign countries wanted to take as many photos as it was possible.

 7. Ответьте на вопросы (выберите ответы A,B или C)

1.What for were many coastal fishing villages famous for?

1. They were famous for outstanding people living there
2. They were famous for the resorts
3. They were famous for great battles, which took part on these territories

 

2.Why is Thomas Cook so famous in tourism?

1. He created the first tourist bulletin
2. He created the first advertisement
3. He organized the first tourist excursion

 

3.What benefits did Industrial revolution bring to the working class?

1. Appearance of cars
2. Appearance of tourism
3. Appearance of medical remedies

 

      8. Какой части текста соответствует следующая информация?

Appearance of new railways

    9. Определите основную идею текста

1. Alteration of tourism concept
2. Appearance of new technologies
3. Results of  Industrial Revolution

     TOURISM DEFINED

 

     In 1937 the League of Nations recommended a definition be adopted of a "tourist" as one who travels for a period of 24 hours or more in a country other than that in which he usually resides. This was held to include persons travelling for pleasure, domestic reasons or health, persons travelling to meetings or on business, and  persons visiting a country on a cruise vessel (even if for less than 24 hours). The principal weakness here is that it ignores the movement of domestic tourists. Later the United Nations Conference on International Travel and Tourism» held in Rome in 1963, considered recommendations put forward by the WTO (now the World Tourism Organisation) and agreed to the term "visitors" to describe "any person visiting a country other than that in which he has his usual place of residence, for any reason other than following an occupation, remunerated from within the country visited".

     This definition was to cover two classes of visitors:

     (a) Tourists, who were classed as temporary visitors staying at least 21 hours, whose purpose could be classified as leisure (whether for recreation, health, sport, holiday, study or religion), or business, family, mission or meeting;

     (b) Excursionists, who were classed as temporary visitors staying less than 24 hours, including cruise travellers but excluding travellers in transit.

     Once again the definition becomes overly restrictive in failing to take domestic tourism into account. The inclusion of "study" in this definition is an interesting one since it is often excluded in later definitions, as are courses of education.

     A working party for the proposed Institute of Tourism in Britain (now the Tourism Society) attempted to clarify the concept and reported in 1976: 'Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and activities during their stay at these destinations; it includes movement for all purposes, as well as day visits or excursions.

     This broader definition was reformulated slightly without losing any of its simplicity at the International Conference on Leisure-Recreation-Tourism, held by the AIEST and the Tourism Society in Cardiff in 1981: “Tourism may be defined in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. Tourism may or may not involve overnight stays away from home."

     The above definitions have been quoted at length because they reveal how broadly the concept of tourism must be defined in order to embrace all forms of the phenomenon. Indeed, the final definition could be criticised on the grounds that unless the activities involved are more dearly specified, it could be applied equally to burglary or any of a hundred other activities! Here, no guidance on the particular activities is offered, nor does it get its any nearer the solution as to how far away a tourist must travel from his home base before he can be termed as such.

     Conceptually, then, to define tourism precisely is a difficult if not impossible task. To produce a technical definition for statistical purposes is less problematic. As long as it is clear what the data comprises, and one compares like with like, whether inter-regionally or internationally, we can leave the conceptual discussion to academics. With the advent of twentieth century mass tourism, perhaps the most accurate definition of a tourist is "someone who travels to see something different, and then complains when he finds things are not the same"! 

   1. Какая информация объясняет абзац № 3 и весь текст. Правильно укажите букву А, В или С:

   А. Tourism is the temporary short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places they live

   B. Tourism includes day visits or excursions

    C. Tourism is a particular activity undertaken outside the home environment 

2. Подберите информацию, являющуюся альтернативой  к данному утверждению: 

To define tourism precisely is a difficult if not an impossible thing

1. It is better to leave this discussion to academics
2. It is very easy to define tourism
3. To define tourism means that no guidance on the particular activities is offered

 

 3. Как можно использовать  факты, имеющиеся  в тексте. Правильно  отметьте букву  ответа – А,  В или С

4. To travel as much as possible

5. To involve more specified activity into your life
6. To define tourism and its features precisely

 

 4. Выберите правильный  заголовок для  абзаца № 1 из  заголовков, приведенных  ниже:

7. Recommendations for defining “tourism”
8. World Tourist Organisation and its terms

9. Reasons for travelling

 

5. Ответьте  на вопросы. Выберите правильно букву  А, В или С как  ответ на вопрос

 1.  How many official definitions of the term “tourist” are there in the text?

A –  3

B –  2

C –  5

2. What is the principal weakness of the two first definitions?

A –  They comment persons travelling for pleasure

B –  They don’t take domestic tourism into account

C –  They consider recommendations put forward by WTO 

      6. Укажите, в какой  последовательности  должны следовать  вопросы: 1, 2, 3, 4

      1. What type of tourism did the organisation ignore?

      2. Does the heading help you to find out the content of the text?

      3. What does the tourism depend on?

      4. Why did the official organisations think about the definitions of “tourism”  and “tourist”?

7. Найдите правильный вариант ответа:

     What kind of definitions can there be? It is possible to give some variants:

1. covering or restrictive
2. ambitious and angry
3. spoilt and unfair
4. broad and short

 

    8. Найдите правильные  соединения глагола  (слева) с существительными (справа): А или В