KS2 Geography: Tourism (Zoom In, Zoom Out)

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Rhys is in Belfast to consider tourism, including the possible positive and negative impacts of tourism.

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Video summary

Rhys is in Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland, being a tourist and finding out about sustainable tourism.

Rhys explains how there are different types of tourist attractions from human-built places of interest - like a gallery - to natural places - such as lakes and mountains. He considers some of the different types of tourism: relaxing on a sunny beach, cultural visits to historic cities, active adventure trips, or enjoying places of entertainment.

Rhys is joined by two children and together they consider the positive and negative impacts of tourism and how it’s important that tourism should be sustainable.

Teacher notes

Questions to consider:

What is tourism?
Have you ever been a tourist in the UK or abroad? What did you visit, where did you go, and what was it like?
What do you think is the best thing about being a tourist?
How does being a tourist make you feel? Is it different from ‘normal’ life?
Where would you like to go on holiday in the UK/abroad?
Can you think of some different types of tourist attractions? What type is your favourite or would you most like to visit?
How might tourism be different in a city or urban environment, compared to in a rural place?
Why has tourism increased over the years?
What are the positive impacts of tourism?
What are the negative impacts of tourism?
Why do you think people have different opinions on tourism?
How do you think tourism can be done in a sustainable way?
Should there be places on Earth where there is no tourism allowed… and if so why and where?

Suggested activities to further explore learning:

1. Plan a walking tour

Imagine tourists are coming to visit your local area. Plan and design a walking tour that you’d take them on:

What key sites, landmarks, places of interest, or viewpoints would you take them to?
Would you plan any stop off points for the tourists to try some local food or drink? Or perhaps a nice spot where they could have a picnic?
How will you choose the route - the quickest, the most scenic, the flattest, the quietest, or perhaps a combination?
Will everyone be able to access the route - including those with pushchairs and wheelchairs? Will there be a longer and shorter option for different people with different amounts of time?
Will there be any activities as part of the walking tour? A quiz about the local area, a photo opportunity moment, a chance to have a go at sketching a famous landmark in the area
How will you make sure your tour is promoting sustainable tourism? For example, making sure it’s not harming the environment, or helping support local businesses._

2. Brand new tourist attraction:

A large waterpark is being built in a quiet rural community as part of a new tourism plan for the area:

Pupils are put into groups and assigned a character role. For example, a local business owner who runs a café, an elderly person living at a nearby care home, a young person trying to get their first summer job, an environmental officer specialising in wildlife protection.
Each group creates a name, persona and biography for their character. The groups then consider and discuss the different viewpoints of their character on the new waterpark proposal – how will it affect them? Will they experience positive or negative impacts? What suggestions do they want to make?
Pupils draw an image of their character and write out the different views, concerns, and positive points for their person around the edge of the paper, ready to present to the class.
This could be run as a debate where the children get a vote at the end - firstly in role as their character, and then a second vote as themselves. This activity can work extremely well if it is based on a real proposal close to your school - this might be more focused on development than tourism but then afterwards you could discuss a similar hypothetical proposal that is themed more closely to tourism.

The idea here is to get pupils thinking about the different perspectives and opinions surrounding tourism, to listen to one another, and to think of solutions that take all viewpoints into consideration.

Key terminology	What it means
Disposable income	How much money a person has to spend or save after paying their everyday expenses such as energy bills, food, transport etc.
Environmentally friendly	Goods or services that have little or no negative impact on the environment, locally or globally.
Pollution	When harmful materials or substances are released into the environment. There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land, although in cities noise and light pollution can also be impactful.
Rural	Countryside areas which may contain scattered villages and small towns. Traditionally they would have supported farming communities.
Sustainable tourism	This is when tourism can continue long term without any lasting negative effects. Tourism can be made more sustainable, for example, by protecting the natural environment, preserving local culture, and creating benefits for the local community.
Tourism	When people travel from where they live to another place for pleasure or relaxation. This can be a day trip or a few days holiday.
Tourist attraction	Places where tourists come to visit. Tourist attractions can range from human-built places of interest like galleries and water parks, to natural places like lakes or mountains.
Trade	The buying and selling of goods and services. Cities are often especially busy areas of trade.
Traffic	The movement of vehicles along transport routes.
Urban	A built up area, cities and towns, where people live and work closely together.
Disposable income	How much money a person has to spend or save after paying their everyday expenses such as energy bills, food, transport etc.
Environmentally friendly	Goods or services that have little or no negative impact on the environment, locally or globally.
Pollution	When harmful materials or substances are released into the environment. There are three main forms of pollution: air, water, and land, although in cities noise and light pollution can also be impactful.
Rural	Countryside areas which may contain scattered villages and small towns. Traditionally they would have supported farming communities.
Sustainable tourism	This is when tourism can continue long term without any lasting negative effects. Tourism can be made more sustainable, for example, by protecting the natural environment, preserving local culture, and creating benefits for the local community.
Tourism	When people travel from where they live to another place for pleasure or relaxation. This can be a day trip or a few days holiday.
Tourist attraction	Places where tourists come to visit. Tourist attractions can range from human-built places of interest like galleries and water parks, to natural places like lakes or mountains.
Trade	The buying and selling of goods and services. Cities are often especially busy areas of trade.
Traffic	The movement of vehicles along transport routes.
Urban	A built up area, cities and towns, where people live and work closely together.