Year 9
Geography Home Learning Booklet
Design an eco-friendly resort in the UK for tourists to enjoy without harming our environment.
Name
Tutor Group
Teacher
Given out: Monday 17 June Hand in: Monday 24 June
Parent/Carer Comment
Staff Comment Included: 1 sheet A4 white card
Target
READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY!!
Year 9 You are to use the tasks in this booklet to plan an eco-tourist resort somewhere in Britain and then produce a brochure for your resort. Your plan should be for a site that can achieve these success criteria:
1. Your site should be somewhere that is fun and will attract tourists. 2. Your site must limit harmful effects on the environment (for example during building
processes) and attempt to reduce any damage that it causes on the environment. 3. Your site should be able to show people ways to reduce their impact on the environment.
Try your hardest to do the task really well. If you have any problems or questions then please come and ask for help or go to Home Learning Club on Tues, Wed & Thurs after school. If you cannot access a computer at home, you can use the computers in Home Learning Club.
READ THIS BEFORE YOU START
Ecotourism is environmentally friendly tourism. Tourism is being increasingly blamed not only for environmental but also for social and cultural damage. Beaches become polluted, coral reefs degraded and economies too dependent on tourism at the expense of local food production and other essential industries and services. Ecotourists want to experience the natural environment directly, undertaking activities such as trekking and bird watching. They want their holiday to have as little impact on the environment as possible. Energy should be sustainable and no waste should be generated that cannot be dealt with efficiently. Ecotourists prefer small scale accommodation in lodges that may not have electricity. They eat local food and local people are their guides as their knowledge and experience is seen to be more valuable. The impact on the environment is low but, because ecotourism is small in scale, the price paid by each tourist is high.
Ecotourism is a low impact travel to endangered and often undisturbed locations. It is different from traditional tourism because it allows the traveller to become educated about the areas — both in terms of the physical landscape and cultural characteristics, and often provides funds for conservation and benefits the economic development of places that are frequently impoverished.
When Did Ecotourism Start?
Ecotourism and other forms of sustainable travel have their origins with the environmental movement of the 1970s. During that time, increasing environmental awareness and a desire to travel to natural locations as opposed to built up tourist locations made ecotourism desirable.
Due to the growing popularity of environmentally-related and adventure travel, various types of trips are now being classified as ecotourism. Most of these are not truly ecotourism, because they do not emphasize conservation, education, low impact travel, and social and cultural participation in the locations being visited.
To be considered ecotourism, a trip must meet the following principles set forth by the International Ecotourism Society:
Minimize the impact of visiting the location (i.e.- the use of roads) Build respect and awareness for the environment and cultural practices Ensure that the tourism provides positive experiences for both the visitors and the
hosts Provide direct financial aid for conservation Provide financial aid, empowerment and other benefits for local peoples Raise the traveller’s awareness of the host country's political, environmental and
social climate
Examples of Ecotourism
Opportunities for ecotourism exist in many different locations worldwide and its activities can vary as widely.
Madagascar, for instance, is famous for its ecotourist activity as it is a biodiversity hotspot, but also has a high priority for environmental conservation and is committed to reducing poverty. Conservation International says that 80% of the country's animals and 90% of its plants are endemic only to the island. Madagascar's lemurs are just one of many species that people visit the island to see.
Because the island's government is committed to conservation, ecotourism is allowed in small numbers because education and funds from the travel will make it easier in the future. In addition, this tourist revenue also aids in reducing the country's poverty.
Task: Categorize the following statements into a. positives and negatives of ecotourism
b. social (people), economic (money), environmental (nature)
Ecotourism can provide
local people with
employment
opportunities, e.g. park
rangers, cooks and
cleaners in lodges
Money spent directly in
the local economy helps
give financial value to
rainforest preservation
Ecotourism fosters
respect for local cultures
and the environment and
increases the awareness
of conservation
Locals can be exploited
in various ways, such as
using them for cheap
labour
Ecotourism can reduce
the need to hunt animals
for income
Tourist hotels sometimes
dump waste into rivers
causing water pollution
Education is improved as
locals are trained as
guides improving their
family's standard of
living and lifestyle
Many companies who
run ecotourism trips
profit most, while local
people earn very little
money
Infrastructure is often
only beneficial to tourists,
e.g. airports as local
people cannot afford to
use it
Most tourists are willing
to pay for conservation
through donations, park
entrance fees and tips for
guides
Local communities can
earn extra income from
the creation of handcrafts
which they can sell to
tourists
Destruction of natural
features, e.g. overused
tracks lead to soil
erosion and damage to
vegetation
Natural resources are
destroyed to make
souvenirs
There is a real danger of
some areas becoming
overused
Rare species are hunted
down to use as tourist
attractions
Task 1 A B C
Population Counties of the UK National Parks
Which area of the UK will you choose and why? _____________________________________________________________________________________
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These maps will help you to decide where you might like to build your resort:
A) Map A shows you the population density of the UK, the larger the area, the bigger the population.
B) Map B shows you the different counties in the UK.
C) Map C shows you the location of National Parks, which are popular areas for activities like walking, mountain biking, rock climbing etc.
(There is a larger copy of these maps at the rear of the booklet to help.)
You can also use other information that you have researched yourself.
Task 2 What types of activity will you offer to your visitors? These need to be ideas that will not affect the environment. Here are some examples.
What ideas can you think of that would be attractive to tourists but will also be eco-friendly? _____________________________________________________________________________________
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Nature Trails & Hikes
Nature Trails & Hikes
Canoeing & White Water Rafting
Mountain Biking
Task 3 Where will people stay? Often people who go on ecotourism holidays expect a comfortable place to stay which does not affect the environment.
The photos above show you some of the ways that eco-tourists are given somewhere to stay. These vary from small wooden buildings to tents and canopies. How will you build your accommodation? What types of building materials will you use that will be good for the environment? _____________________________________________________________________________________
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This building reduces its impact on the environment by being hidden in the ground.
Task 4 What form of electricity will power your accommodation? Which do you think will be the best in the UK? Below is a list of some possible solutions but which one would you use and WHY?
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Task 5 What other features can you think of that will make your resort eco-friendly? How can we stop water from being wasted? How can we make the transport to your resort eco-friendlier?
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Hydroelectricity Or maybe, no power!! Solar Power Wind Power
TASK 6
Now that you have drafted out your ideas use the piece of card provided to produce a brochure for your eco-tourist resort. Alternatively, you can produce your brochure using a computer. How will my brochure be marked?
Criteria Marks
Individuality (Is your plan different to others?) 5
How well have you explained your ideas? (Explain why you have chosen these ideas) 10
How eco-friendly is your idea? 10
How well will your idea work? 10
Presentation 5
Here are some examples of brochures done in a different school about tourism at Niagara Falls to help
you get some inspiration. Use the following blank page to plan/draft your brochure.
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