What’s Hot

There are some adventure travel hot spots out there, with good reason:

Ecotourism: This type of travel – which appeals to the ecologically-conscious – has risen in popularity. Here, travellers look for locations, such as Costa Rica, where flora, fauna and natural highlights are the prime attractions. There, the Monteverde  Cloud Forest Preserve features over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds and 2,500 species of plants.

Hiking Adventures: With people practicing more active lifestyles and desiring more “visceral³” experiences, it’s no surprise that hiking excursions have grown, says Clayton. She points to Peru’s Inca Trail, with its mix of ruins, mountain scenery, lush forests, and subtropical jungle – all leading to Machu Picchu, known as “the lost city of the Incas”. “It's like visiting a “living museum,” says Clayton,

Authentic Travel: Travellers who are looking to nurture(кормить) their mind, body and spirit find that Thailand offers the best of all worlds. Tour operators cite the country’s natural beauty, enticing culture (“a spiritual and historical adventure”, says Clayton) and affordability. In areas like Phuket and Koh Samui, the beaches are gorgeous, plentiful and unspoiled – more like “Paradise Lost”, says Clayton, than the typical “packaged” beach vacation. Here, out-of-the-way beach bungalows (for $25 a night) are shacks with no amenities that appeal to those looking for a more authentic experience. With easy access to surrounding countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore, Thailand is also a great starting point to explore Asia.

Voluntourism: This category that’s rising in popularity. Volunteer travel, at it’s otherwise known, incorporates a community volunteer project with travel to a foreign country, notes Kira Zack of G.A.P Adventures in Toronto.  Last year, G.A.P. doubled its number of such “voluntourism” trips, examples of which include assembling wheelchairs for landmine victims in Cambodia or volunteering in a rural village in South Africa to hep develop a pre-school. If you're thinking of holiday plans and you fancy the idea of a holiday not just, 'with a difference', but which, 'makes a difference', then the new trend of voluntourism could be just the thing for you.

Appealing to people who want to do something enriching in their spare time, as well as relax or go sightseeing, voluntourism is a new wave in the travel industry, which combines holidaying and charity work. Instead of lazing by the pool or taking photographs of the sights, philanthropic travellers, dubbed voluntourists, travel to far-flung locations. Typical voluntourism activities focus on community development (e.g. building projects, planting crops and gardens), education (e.g. teaching English or general literacy), environmental projects (e.g. wildlife protection programmes, reforestation); and social welfare (e.g. caring for orphans, street children or AIDS sufferers).

6b) Describe the modern types of tourism using the words in bold.

Which of the types of tourism/travelling are interesting for you? Explain why. What is/are the difference(s) between them and package tours?

Ex. 7 Listening. a) Before you listen. Match the words and expressions from the recording to their definitions.

a) basic	d) fair price	h) handicrafts	k) recycle
b) benefit	e) flexible	i) natural resources	l) sustainable
c) carbon dioxide	g) footprints	j) nature reserve	m)wildlife

1. basic means forming the part of smth that is most necessary; of the simplest kind or at the simplest level.

2. handicrafts are skilled activities in which things are made in a traditional way with the hands rather than being produced by machines in a factory, or the objects made by such activities.

3. sustainable is used to refer to a way of using natural products so that no damage is caused to the environment.

4. wildlife means animals and plants that grow independently of people, usually in natural conditions.

5. To benefit means to receive or give a helpful or good effect.

6. A nature reserve is an area of land which is protected in order to keep safe the animals and plants that live there, often because they are rare.

7. natural resources are materials such as coal and wood which exist or are produced in nature and can be used by people.

8. footprints are the marks made by a person's or animal's feet.

9. carbon dioxide (symbol CO2) a gas breathed out by people and animals from the lungs or produced by burning carbon

10. flexible means able to change or be changed easily according to the situation.

11. A fair price is one which is reasonable and is what you expect or deserve.

12. To recycle means to treat things that have already been used so that they can be used again.