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.