Tourism Explosion
Objective: To find out how the tourism industry has grown in the last 70 years and to discover the factors that affect people who go on their holidays.
A funny video to start with......
Task 1 - What is tourism?
Complete the tasks on the worksheet below using the resources on this page to help you.
A definition of tourism from the World Tourism Organisation can be found here. It is pretty complicated and so I wonder if you can simplify it a bit.
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Task 2 - Impacts of Tourism - Case Study: Spain
Watch both of the videos below. The first is taken in May 2025 on an EasyJet flight from London Luton to Ibiza. The second video is about protests in June 2025 against tourism in Spain.
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Complete the worksheet using the information on the BBC video above.
The Impacts Of Tourism - Case Study: Benidorm
Objective: To find out about the social, economic and environmental impacts of tourism.
Getting the basics: At IGCSE & IB level you will hear a lot about the abbreviation S.E.E. These three factors are really important in the study of Geography and can be applied to many, many situations around the world.
S - Social. This is do to with people, their lives, their well-being, level of peace (note link to terrorism), preservation of culture and traditions and their quality of their life.
E - Environmental. This is to do with the quality of the human and physical surroundings, levels of pollution and health of the environment
E - Economic. This is to do with money, jobs and the economy. Recession and unemployment would be important here, especially the global financial crisis still affecting us today.
Task 1 - Complete this worksheet using six different codes below.
Economic Positive Ec+ Economic Negative Ec-
Environmental Positive En+ Environmental Negative En-
Social Positive So+ Social Negative So-
Task 2 - Use your A3 copy of the worksheet below, annotate on any S.E.E +/- factors that you can see around the image.
Getting the basics: At IGCSE & IB level you will hear a lot about the abbreviation S.E.E. These three factors are really important in the study of Geography and can be applied to many, many situations around the world.
S - Social. This is do to with people, their lives, their well-being, level of peace (note link to terrorism), preservation of culture and traditions and their quality of their life.
E - Environmental. This is to do with the quality of the human and physical surroundings, levels of pollution and health of the environment
E - Economic. This is to do with money, jobs and the economy. Recession and unemployment would be important here, especially the global financial crisis still affecting us today.
Task 1 - Complete this worksheet using six different codes below.
Economic Positive Ec+ Economic Negative Ec-
Environmental Positive En+ Environmental Negative En-
Social Positive So+ Social Negative So-
Task 2 - Use your A3 copy of the worksheet below, annotate on any S.E.E +/- factors that you can see around the image.
Task 3 - Watch the first video below. On your Task 3 worksheet, please outline the human and physical factors that attract tourists to Benidorm.
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Task 4 - Now, watch the second video and write about some of the problems that too many tourists bring to the city.
Tourism & The Celebrity Effect
Task 5 - There are two examples below of how celebrities have caused a massive increase in tourism to two places. Your two celebrities are:
1. Justin Bieber
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
Your job is to choose one of the two videos below and research the story and how it impacted on the place in the video. Please find out about the following:
1. Name the country and the exact location of the place.
2. Why was this place chosen to be featured by the Leonardo / Justin?
**Only Team Justin - What did Justin do that he shouldn't have?
4. What problems did it cause at this place (Justin & Leonardo) afterwards? Include a photo to show the problem.
5. What did the authorities have to do to control this problem?
6. Do you think that Leonardo / Justin did more harm than good for this place?
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Instatourism (The Instagram Effect)
Imagine posting the picture above on your Instagram account. Pretty amazing view and additionally, it looks quite dangerous. Two sure-fire ways to get a few likes from your followers. Instagram has really had a big impact on tourism and specific locations in recent years.
Task 6 - Reading up about the phenomenon - Spend 5 minutes reading the article by clicking on the tab below. Write a 100 word summary of how Instagram can impact tourist destinations and included an explanation of what 'staged reality' means. Please also find out how many active users Instagram currently has and add this data.
Task 6 - Reading up about the phenomenon - Spend 5 minutes reading the article by clicking on the tab below. Write a 100 word summary of how Instagram can impact tourist destinations and included an explanation of what 'staged reality' means. Please also find out how many active users Instagram currently has and add this data.
Task 7 - Remember the beautiful photo above? Looks idyllic and peaceful doesn't it? Check out these Google images to see the Instagram Effect in action.
Choose another place (or this one if you want), and explain the impacts of Instagram on the destination.
The Tourism Wall of Shame
Take a look at some of the photos below depicting troublesome tourist behaviour in different destinations around the world. Here is a recent June 2026 article about the growth of camper van tourism on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and local people witnessing tourists going to the toilet outside their homes! Nasty!
Task 8 - Find a suitable story from the last two years that reports on tourists behaving badly, and carry out a little more research on the issue. Use the template research sheet below to help you. Here is CNN's review of bad tourist behaviour in 2025 to get your started!
Take a look at some of the photos below depicting troublesome tourist behaviour in different destinations around the world. Here is a recent June 2026 article about the growth of camper van tourism on the Isle of Skye in Scotland and local people witnessing tourists going to the toilet outside their homes! Nasty!
Task 8 - Find a suitable story from the last two years that reports on tourists behaving badly, and carry out a little more research on the issue. Use the template research sheet below to help you. Here is CNN's review of bad tourist behaviour in 2025 to get your started!
Task 9 - Now, using this Instagram template (copy on to a Word document), please write a post explaining your feelings about the tourist incident. Use a photo of the incident as well as adding a text box with your feelings / # etc.
The Rise of 'Voluntourism'.
Voluntourism is a type of tourism where people combine a holiday with volunteering. Instead of only visiting famous attractions or relaxing on the beach, voluntourists spend some of their time helping local communities, protecting wildlife or improving the environment. They might build schools, plant trees, teach English or help care for endangered animals.
Many people believe voluntourism is a positive way to travel because it allows visitors to make a difference while learning about another culture. It can also provide money and support for important community and conservation projects.
However, not everyone agrees that voluntourism is always beneficial. Some volunteers have little training or experience, and local people could sometimes do the work instead. In some cases, projects have even been created to attract paying volunteers rather than to help local communities.
In this lesson, you will investigate the advantages and disadvantages of voluntourism before deciding whether it is a responsible and sustainable way to travel.
Here are the International School of Toulouse, we have the James Rao Foundation that allows students to travel around the world every year on carefully vetted voluntourism activities. Check out the testamonials tab to find out where IST students have been since 2016.
Task 10 - To complete this last section of our work on tourism, please follow the instructions on the worksheet below. The resources to complete the activities are laid out below.
Some examples of a more humerous take on voluntourism from SAIH in Norway.
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