Table of Contents
BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 560
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 560 – PASSAGE – 1
IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 560
READING PASSAGE – 1
SHAPING TOURISM TRENDS
– the commercial perspective
It is the commercial sector which converts tourism trends into reality through availability of money and response to market needs to make profit. Tourism projects do not occur unless there are sound commercial results coming from them. Even governments and local authorities are now applying commercially based techniques to evaluate tourism, and are asking for rates of return on community investments.
Commercial evaluation is commonplace in tourism and the only trends that are going to emerge in the future are those that make money. The exploitable trend is the one which will survive and be developed. For example, the demographic trends in Europe show an increase in an ageing population and adequate market research and an in depth understanding of the needs of this sector of the population has given rise to a whole industry based on holidays for the 55-65 age groups.
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A. Let’s look at the commercial hotel sector’s response over 25 years ago to an occupancy problem in London, UK, at weekends. Hotels were empty. The answer was the weekend-break in London with train ticket and hotel combined. The mini-break or weekend away in a hotel is now an established part of UK life and there are non-trends within that differentiation of mini-weekends into those based on activities, culture, learning, and so on. A trend created and exploited originally by one hotel company but now part of the UK lifestyle.
Another demographic trend – the larger number of travelling businesswomen – has given rise to the female executive bedroom now being promoted by hotel companies and quite a changed attitude on the part of hotel restaurant managers to women dining on their own. The trend in fitness and health is currently being successfully exploited by tour operators, travel agents, hotels and restaurants in the form of activity-centred holidays, health food menus and even non alcoholic wine lists.
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The commercial hotel sector has established the trend towards a much more sophisticated hotel product including clubrooms, ‘no smoking’ rooms, rapid check out and pre-registration. And provision of a greater range of facilities in the room is being given a great deal of attention by many groups and mini-bars. In-house video/films, hair dryers, more sophisticated lighting controls and bedhead panel controls for radio, TV, etc are now quite common.
B. The growth in the ski market – there are now some 600,000 skiers in the UK – is not just the creation of suitable packages by the travel trade but also has retail backing in ski-wear by firms like Marks and Spencer. The spin-off of the exploitation of this trend into the sales of thermal underwear is probably as good a demonstration of the induced tourism multiplier as anyone will need. This is a concerted commercial effort to increase the business volumes and to develop the trend where the winter holiday becomes an accepted part of life.
Providing new good-standard hotels in Cairo enhanced that destination’s attractiveness and opened it up to a much wider market where volume travel and volume accommodation could work hand in hand. The inhibiting factor in developing Istanbul as a much more viable tourist destination is the lack of volume of good standard accommodation. This is an opportunity waiting to be exploited which will not only benefit Istanbul but also the southern coast of Turkey as it raises the whole potential of two-destination holidays – the wealth of history of Istanbul plus the beaches of the southern coast.
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This example is typical of the potential that exists in tourism just requiring commercialisation. This potential had already been recognized by the Turkish government who provided the necessary infrastructure, so creating the trend towards Turkish as opposed to Spanish or Yugoslav or Greek holidays is already under way.
C. Commercial trend shaping does not just happen by accident, it has to be adequately researched, planned, developed and carefully executed. There are still people with fixed attitudes towards tourism who think that investment in tourism is suspect – much tourism infrastructure has little alternative use. It is for that reason that the commercial approach to tourism has to be thorough, based on sound marketing, and has to show an adequate return on investment.
In a number of instances negative attitudes to tourism investment have meant that in order for the economic benefits of tourism to be realized governments have had to provide the impetus for that development either in terms of providing the infrastructure or in the form of grants and loans for tourism purposes. Governments do, however, realize substantial tax and fiscal income from their tourist industries. There are great cases for governments being able to help themselves by investing in their own tourist industries. They can obtain an excellent return from any investment they make in the industry. Also, partnerships between government and commercial interests can produce excellent benefits for both.
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D. Shaping a trend in tourism is concerned with opportunity identification and creating a level of expectation which then has to be met through product development and providing the customer with what is promised. The final judge of the received value of the commercial tourism product is the customer and it is customer reaction that keeps the concern in business. The customer is therefore the logical starting point in commercial tourism. Social trends have already shown shifts in age groupings, and people with more disposable income, more leisure time and fewer children.
These are the opportunities for commercial tourism already being exploited. More customers for tourism are being created daily. The first-time holiday taker has quite different needs from the experienced traveller and these are the opportunities for new types of budget accommodation (for example) for these new markets. Identifying these new customers and being aware of the changing requirements of existing customers represents the commercial opportunity which can be developed and the way in which a trend can be established.
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E. There are of course, a few negative aspects to the commercial approach in tourism. Commercial exploitation has had a bad name. That attitude, fortunately, is now changing and development these days tends to go ahead in a much closer and controlled partnership with government local authorities, the local environment, the people and the commercial sector. The future is bright, but with increasing competition from new developing destinations and sophisticated attractions, commercial decisions in tourism will themselves become more sophisticated.
The commercial sector can develop a trend, and has produced many innovations in tourism. It is a wealth and job creator. To continue that role the commercial sector must be allowed to proceed without interference. Tourism is a success, but it needs to be able to respond to market circumstances unrestrained.
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Questions 1-4
Reading Passage 1 has five marked paragraphs, A-E. Choose the correct heading for sections A-D from the list of headings below. Write the correct number, i-ix.
List of Headings
i. Trend exploitation by firms and governments
ii. Customer reaction to commercial tourism
iii. Trend in fitness and health
iv. Government tax income from tourism
v. Accommodation commercialization by governments
vi. Investment in tourism
vii. Commercial exploitation and future trends
viii. Tourism trend change in age grouping
ix. Tourism trend in hotel sector
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1. Section A
2. Section B
3. Section C
4. Section D
Questions 5-8
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
5. Hotels has developed many more sophisticated products in the tourism trend EXCEPT
A. non-smoking areas.
B. fast check-out.
C. free breakfast provision.
D. clubrooms
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6. Istanbul is less likely to be developed as a tourist destination mainly due to
A. very few places of interest.
B. lack of good-standard hotels.
C. inconvenient transport.
D. little publicity to tourists.
7. According to negative attitudes to tourism investment, governments should
A. cooperate with commercial organizations in tourism investment.
B. prevent the excessive investment in tourism.
C. stimulate tourism development through infrastructure and funds.
D. invest in tourist industries by themselves for benefits.
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8. Shaping a new trend in tourism is concerned with
A. sufficient government investment.
B. good-standard accommodation provision.
C. travel agency management.
D. opportunity identity and customer response.
Questions 9-13
Look at the following items (Questions 9-13) and statements below. Match the statements with the items, A-H.
9. female executive bedrooms
10. activity-centred holidays
11. in-house videos
12. ski wear
13. good-standard hotels
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A. are now successfully exploited in tourism trend in fitness and health
B. are negatively treated by hotel restaurant managers
C. are quite common facilities provided in hotel rooms
D. are currently promoted by hotel companies
E. are provided in Cairo enhancing the destination’s attractiveness
F. are provided in both Istanbul and the southern coast of Turkey
G. are not given much attention by mini-bars
H. are sold by some UK retail firms
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ANSWERS
1. IX
2. I
3. VI
4. II
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. D
10. A
11. C
12. H
13. E
IELTS Academic Reading Test