IELTS
JOURNAL
95
Exercise 33: Which paragraph contains...?
Read the following passage from a newspaper article about ‘green tourism’.
A) Interested in making your holiday greener and more sustainable, ensuring that local
people get a fair cut of the money you've handed over, and
that no rivers are being
dried up or forests felled to accommodate your trip? Congratulations – for being in a
well-meaning minority.
B) A recent survey by the travel trade body, Abta, found that just 20 per cent of travel
agents have ever been asked for such holidays or asked questions about sustainability,
though they did report a "feeling" that interest in sustainability was growing. Despite
apocalyptic
warnings about climate change, water scarcity, pollution, and peak oil,
there isn't exactly a stampede to the travel industry's door demanding it play its part.
C) "The industry feels there isn't a huge demand out there," says Sue Hurdle,
chief
executive of the independent charity The Travel Foundation. "They don't have a lot of
people banging on the door asking for greener holidays."
D) Others are more specific, such as Professor Harold Goodwin, of the International
Centre for
Responsible Tourism (ICRT), an independent academic research centre. "There is a big
shift in values and approach – it's
not just travel, it's a general consumer trend," he
says. "If you're worried about where your pork comes from at home, why wouldn't you
worry about that when on holiday?"
E) For those of us who are bothered, working out when the travel industry is doing its
bit, and when it isn't, and separating good operators from charlatans peddling
greenwash, is a bewildering and frustrating experience.
England alone usually has
around 20 certification schemes or logos on the go at any one time, split into two
categories: awards, where hotels and operators are judged independently; and
certification schemes, where they generally pay to be included. It also helps to know
what the industry is aiming for. We're not talking about genuine eco-tourism – which
remains a niche and narrow market – but on what the
industry prefers to call
"sustainable", or "responsible" tourism.
F) "Many people make the mistake of thinking that when anyone describes a business
or activity as being 'green' that they are environmentally friendly," says Jason Freezer,
destinations manager for Visit England. "Being green, sustainable,
or responsible is
about ensuring economic viability, social inclusion and contributing to the natural
environment. A sustainable business is doing its most to enhance its own success