1. How often do you travel for pleasure? or Do you like travelling?
2. What is your favourite type of holiday? or What type of holiday do you prefer—beach, city break, or countryside?
3. Do you like to plan your trips in detail or be spontaneous?
4. Do you prefer domestic or international travel? or How do you prepare for an overseas holiday?
5. What’s the most memorable trip you’ve ever taken?
6. Who do you usually travel with, and why?
7. In your opinion, what are the benefits of travel?
8. How have your travel habits changed over the past few years?
▶ Part 2
Describe a tourist attraction you once visited.
You should say:
• When you visited it
• Where it is situated
• Who you went with
• And explain what you liked the most about it
▶ Part 3
1. Why do you think tourism is so developed now?
2. How has technology changed the way people plan and book their holidays? or How people choose their destination?
3. What kind of transport do you prefer on holidays? Why?
4. In what ways can tourism harm the environment, and how can it be made more sustainable?
5. Do you think package tours or independent travel offer a better experience? Why?
▶ Vocabulary: Travel & Holidays
Accommodation: a room or building in which you stay during holidays or live. While I’m travelling, my favourite types of accommodation are hotels.
all holiday: a time after you lost your job. He lost his job yesterday. Now it’s all holiday for him.
all-inclusive: a hotel deal where the price includes accommodation, meals and drinks at any time. I’ve never thought that hotels with all-inclusive service are so comfortable! You can grab a piece of cake at 6 a.m. or get a cocktail at midnight.
half-board: if you request “half-board” at a hotel, breakfast and dinner would be included in the hotel price (as part of the package). John and Lily liked their tour with half-board service. They spent breakfasts and dinners in the hotel and bought lunches in the nearby cafés.
full-board: if you request “full-board” at a hotel, that would include all three meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in the price of your accommodation.
self-catering: a holiday deal where meals are not provided. Mary thinks that self-catering is neither pleasant nor efficient.
to book (something): to arrange and confirm a place on a flight, a room in a hotel or a ticket for an event in the future. If you book your plane tickets in advance, they will be much cheaper.
breathtaking view: an amazing view. I’ve seen many breathtaking views during my journey to Paris.
busman’s holiday: when you spend your free time similarly to the time when you work. This expression comes from the idea that a bus driver would spend his holiday travelling somewhere on a bus. Unfortunately, many people spend a busman’s holiday nowadays.
charter flight: a cheap regular flight. Due to our modest budget, we had to take a charter flight.
check-in desk: the place at the airport where you register for your flight and deposit your luggage.
far-off destination: a distant place. Australia is a far-off destination, nonetheless I want to visit it.
getting away from it all: escaping in order to rest from a daily routine. After I passed my exams, I wanted to get away from it all for at least a couple of days.
go off the beaten track: to visit an uncommon place. Unlike my brother, I prefer to go off the beaten track.
guided tour: a tour in which a group of people is guided by an expert. Guided tours are a great way to learn about different places of interest.
head for: go in a direction. I’m heading for France for my next holidays.
holiday brochure: a publication with details of holiday. Our guide gave us a great brochure about our hotel.
holiday destination: where you go for a holiday. We chose New York as our holiday destination for next summer.
holiday of a lifetime: a very special holiday, once in a lifetime. Last year, my family and I had a holiday of a lifetime in Italy.
holiday resort (tourist resort): a place where lots of people go for a holiday. Last year my family went on a journey to London. We lived in a great tourist resort.
hordes of tourists: crowds of tourists. Hordes of tourists can be seen during summer near the city park.
in the middle of nowhere: in a place that is far away from where most people live. My grandmother lives in the middle of nowhere, but she loves her old little village.
local crafts: things made in the region. My sister bought some amazing local crafts on her trip to India.
out of season: not within the main holiday period. I decided to go on a journey with my friends out of season.
passport control: a place where you get your passport checked. I spent a few hours waiting in line at passport control.
package tour: a holiday at a fixed price in which the travel company arranges your travel, hotels, and sometimes meals for you. We bought a cheap package tour to Italy and stayed in a big hotel by the sea.
picturesque village: a nice, beautiful village. My grandparents live in a picturesque village.
places of interest: memorable and notable places. My native city has a variety of places of interest.
short break: a little holiday. My father had a short break this year; I hope he’ll be able to relax some more.
stunning landscape: a beautiful countryside. Stunning landscapes are only one of many reasons why I want to visit Africa.
to go sightseeing: to visit sights of interest. Today we went sightseeing with my friends.
to travel on foot / horse: to move by walking or riding. When I’m in a small town I prefer to travel on foot.
to travel by bus / plane / car / bicycle / motorcycle: to move using various transport. Although I usually travel by car, when I decided to visit Paris I had to travel by plane.
tourist attractions: places which tourists tend to visit. Despite not being a tourist attraction, the new fountain is very popular among the locals.
tourist trap: a place with many tourists. We’ve visited many tourist traps lately.
travel agency: a shop that specializes in booking holidays. I’ve bought tickets for my trip through a travel agency.
wildlife safari: an observational holiday, mainly in Africa. I’d love to go on a wildlife safari sometime.
youth hostel: a cheap hotel. During our trip we stayed in a hostel because we didn’t have enough money for a hotel.
