Is tourism harmful? 6 Minute English

Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English

and I'm Rob. This is the programme

where in just six minutes we discuss

an interesting topic and teach some

related English vocabulary. Well,

joining me to do this is Sam.

Sam: Hello! So what's our interesting

topic today, Rob?

Rob: Something close to our hearts, Sam -

it's travel.

Sam: Great!

Rob: But more and more of us

are travelling to explore the world - many

of us have more leisure time, and the cost

of travelling has become relatively cheaper.

Sam: But here lies the problem - the

places we're visiting are becoming more crowded,

sometimes spoiling the atmosphere

and the beauty - the things we came

to see in the first place!

Rob: This is why we're going to be

discussing how some cities around

the world are putting restrictions

on the tourists who visit. But

that's after I challenge you to answer

this question, Sam! Are you ready?

Sam: Bring it on, Rob!

Rob: According to Mastercard's Global

Destination Cities Index, what was

the most visited city in 2018? Was it...

a) London, b) New York, or c) Bangkok?

Sam: All great places to visit - but I think

I'll stay close to home and say a) London.

Rob: OK. Well, as always I will reveal the

answer later in the programme.

Now, let's start our journey in Italy's

capital city, Rome. Famous for its

Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and

many other things.

Sam: Lots of people are visiting, Rob - and

locals and tourists have differing

attitudes towards the way they respect

these beautiful and historic sites.

Respect here is a verb,

to mean treat something with care.

Rob: Well, the authorities in the city fear

that some tourists are showing

disrespect to the city and have introduced

laws to clampdown on certain behaviour.

Clampdown means officially trying

to stop or limit people doing something.

Sabina Castelfranco is a journalist in

the city. She told BBC Radio 4's

You and Yours programme why new

restrictions have been introduced...

Sabina Castelfranco: The new rules are

really to make sure that tourists

do not misbehave when they are

visiting tourist attractions in Rome.

Romans don't like to see tourists

walking around bare-chested, they

don't like to see them wading in their

fountains - so really the objective is

to improve the life of the city for residents

and for tourists themselves.

Sam: So, the new rules are to stop

tourists misbehaving - that's doing bad

or inappropriate things. I'm sure

not all visitors misbehave

- but those who have been, have been

wading - that's walking through water - in

the famous fountains and

men have not been covering up

the top half of their bodies - so,

going bare-chested.

Rob: Not any more, Sam! These new laws

have banned this with the objective of

improving the life for the people of

Rome - the Romans. An objective is

a plan or aim to achieve something.

Sam: Other laws introduced in Rome,

with the objective of improving the city,

include giving out severe fines to people

who drop litter and to those who attach

'love padlocks' to historic monuments.

Rob: Well, I guess if it makes the city a

nicer place to visit for everyone, then it's

a good idea. Well, let's talk about another

historic old city - Bruges in Belgium. The

old and narrow streets are often packed

with sightseers - so restrictions have

been introduced there. Helen Coffey,

deputy travel editor for the Independent

newspaper, also spoke to the You and

Yours programme, to explain

what is going on...

Helen Coffey: Bruges was the latest city

to say we're going to introduce new

regulations to crack down on what

they called the Disneyfication

of their city. A really key one is they're

going to cap the number of cruises that

can dock, and actually this a big one that

lots of cities do. They basically don't like

cruise visitors because cruise visitors

don't spend money.

Sam: So Helen mentioned a crackdown -

which like clampdown - means

taking action to restrict or stop

certain activities. And Bruges wants to

crack down on the Disneyfication of the city.

Rob: This term describes turning

something into an artificial, not real,

commercial environment, similar to

a Walt Disney theme park. I'm not

sure it's that similar yet, but one way to

maintain the authentic feel of the city is

to cap the number of cruises that can dock.

Sam: Cap means restrict or limit. It's felt

that visitors who come by cruise ship,

don't stay overnight and therefore

don't bring much money into the city.

The message from the city authorities

is 'stay overnight or don't come!'

Rob: Well, one city that has people visiting

for the day or staying longer is the most

visited city in the world - but where is that,

Sam? Earlier I asked you what the most

visited city in 2018 was? Was it...

a) London, b) New York, or c) Bangkok?

Sam: And I said London.

Rob: That was in second place.

The most visited city last year

was Bangkok, in Thailand.

Sam: OK, Rob. Well, maybe what I can

get right is a recap of today's vocabulary.

Starting with respect.

If you respect something

you treat it with care.

Rob: We also discussed clampdown,

which means officially trying to stop

or limit people doing something.

Crackdown is a similar phrase.

Sam: To misbehave is to do something

bad or inappropriate. And an objective is

a plan or aim to achieve something.

Rob: Our next word is Disneyfication - a

term that describes turning something

into an artificial, not real,

commercial environment, similar

to a Walt Disney theme park.

Sam: And finally we had cap - which

means restrict or limit.

Rob: Well, we've had to cap this

programme at 6 minutes - and we're

out of time. Goodbye!

Sam: Bye bye!