Lesson video

Hi geographers, it's Mr. Robertson here and I am delighted to be learning with you today.

We are going to engage in our final lesson in our unit, Europe: how diverse are its landscapes and places.

And today we are going to look at tourism in Europe.

I can't wait to get started.

So let's put on our geography hats.

Let's put on our explorer rucksacks, and we are ready to go.

By the end of this lesson, you are going to be able to use different sources of information to choose and plan a holiday in a European country.

We've got some key words to help us today and expand our geographical vocabulary.

As usual, I'm going to say the word first and then I'm going to ask you to say it next.

So let's begin.

Our first word is destination.

Our second word is tourism activities.

Brilliant.

Our third word is economic benefit.

Brilliant.

And our final words are environmental problem.

Amazing, fantastic vocabulary.

We are going to be using all of these keywords as we learn about tourism in Europe tourism.

So these words, what do they mean? A destination is a place that someone or something travels to or is sent to.

Tourism activities are the things that people travel somewhere to do.

An economic benefit is something that is good for a place in terms of money or jobs.

An environmental problem is the negative effect on the environment from an action or activity.

So this lesson about tourism in Europe is split into two parts.

In the first part, we're going to be going on holiday to Europe.

And in the second part, we're going to think about tourism benefits and problems. So are we ready for the first part of our lesson? Geographers, let's go.

Tourism is when travel somewhere else for pleasure and relaxation.

Tourists might visit another country or they might choose to go somewhere else within their own country.

Have you ever been somewhere on holiday or was it different from the place that you live? Or did you do when you were there? Use this opportunity to talk to the person next to you.

Tell 'em about where you might have been on the holiday, if you've been on, one where you might have visited.

Well, I can hear so many brilliant places that you visited.

They don't have to be across the world that you can find amazing places very close to you as well.

Andeep said, "I went snorkelling in the sea in Kefalonia." That's in Greece.

"There are no beaches at all near where I live so it was very different." So Andeep had a fantastic time.

I hope wherever you went, you had an amazing time too.

People go on holiday for different reasons.

They might travel somewhere to enjoy the weather.

They might want to learn about the history and culture of a place, explore its scenery and nature, or take part in leisure activities.

We can see some photographs of amazing places to go on holiday there.

On the left we can see the Parthenon in Greece, a place of amazing history.

And on our right we can see a mountain range in the Alps.

Maybe that's somewhere where people go skiing or just to enjoy the snow and look at some beautiful mountain views.

Tourists visit places because of the human and physical geographical features found there.

Physical features might include things like mountains, lakes, and beaches.

Human features might include historic buildings, theme parks, and art galleries.

We can see a photograph of an amazing beach with some arches there and that sea looks really warm and inviting, doesn't it? Maybe you could go snorkelling there, like Andeep did.

In the other photograph, we can see Venice in Italy and there we've got beautiful canals, incredible museums, churches, plazas, and of course, lots of fantastic food like pizza.

So we're going to have a go at sorting some features, places we might visit on a holiday to Europe.

You can see two circles.

One is labelled human and one is labelled physical.

What I want you to do is sort the features into whether they are human features, which means they've been created by human beings or physical features, which means they are natural features that have nothing to do with human beings.

So we have an art gallery, a beach, a lake, a mountain, a museum, and a theme park.

I'd like you to sort all of those features into the correct circle.

Right, geographers.

Let's get sorting.

I look forward to see what you come up with.

Okay, so an art gallery is a human feature, isn't it? A beach is a physical feature 'cause that's made up of sand and rocks and water.

A lake is a physical feature because it's a body of water.

A mountain is a physical feature.

A museum is a human feature 'cause museums are created by human beings and a theme park is a human feature as well because they are built by humans.

Well done, geographers if you've got those correct.

There are tourist destinations in Europe and they include places like the Fjords in Norway.

Imagine sailing down those, looking at the beautiful cliffs and seeing the amazing birds and other creatures that you might find there.

The Algarve in Portugal, a long stretch of wonderful coastline with beautiful seas, marine creatures, and amazing places to visit as well.

Athens in Greece or Disneyland, Paris in France.

Lots of different sorts of tourist destinations that you might visit.

We have some further tourist destinations here as well.

The Alps in Switzerland, Venice in Italy, Bavaria in Germany.

We can see an incredible castle there that looks like an amazing place and incredible forests as well.

And Lake Bled in Slovenia.

You can see that beautiful lake with the island and some incredible mountains in the background.

So many incredible places that we could visit as a tourist and find out more about them.

Enjoy their incredible scenery.

Discover some incredible human features as well, such as museums, castles, canals.

I'd like you to see how many of those tourist destinations you could name.

You've been introduced to all of them earlier, but which of those do you still recognise? Pause the video, maybe work with the person next to you.

Can you remember the name of those different tourist destinations? Go on geographers, off you go.

So looking at these answers, we can see that in the top left we have the Fjords in Norway.

Next along the we have Athens in Greece.

A photograph of the beach is the Algarve in Portugal, and then in the top right you can see now Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, Paris in France.

In the bottom left we have the canals, Venice in Italy.

We have the mountains, the Alps in Switzerland.

The castle is Bavaria in Germany and the lake is Lake Bled in Slovenia.

Well done if you manage to solve all of those, geographers.

I want you to imagine that you are going on holiday to a country in Europe.

What sort of information might it be useful to know before you go? Pause the video and talk to the person next to you, what kind of information might it be useful to know? Laura says, "I need to think about where I want to go, what it's like there, what I might need to do and what the weather will be.

This will help me to plan and pack for my holiday." Did you come up with some of those ideas as well? Well done if you did.

Tourists might want to know about a range of things such as the climate, the main languages spoken in the country they're visiting, the currency so they know what they can spend their money on, the capital city, how to get there, tourist destinations and tourist activities.

All of that information is gonna help making planning much easier and also give us an idea of what we might do when we get there.

But how could you find out this information? Again, have a little think.

Talk to the person next to you.

Pause the video.

How could we find out about some of this information? Where could we go? Did you think of any of these ideas? We can use lots of different sources of information to plan a holiday in Europe.

We might look in some information books.

We could consult some maps to find out a little bit about what sort of places are located there.

We could use the internet to find out about some activities or perhaps to find out about how to get to these places or we could use tourist guides.

Tourist guides are produced by different destinations to help you find information about museums, theme parks to find out when they're open or different sources of information can be really, really useful to help us plan a holiday to Europe.

You to think of a question that a tourist planning a holiday to come to a country in Europe might ask.

What sort of information might they want to find out? What sort of questions would really help them understand about the country they're visiting, and I would help them get a bit more information? Pause the video, talk to the person next to you, come up with as many questions as you can.

Wow, I'm hearing so many great geographical questions here.

I can hear such a range.

Here are some examples.

We might ask questions like how can I get there? What's the climate like? What is the capital city? What places should I visit? What currency does the country have? What are the main languages spoken? What activities can I do there? Did you think of some questions like this? Maybe you thought of some of your own questions as well.

Great geographical thinking.

We've got a task here, geographers.

Andeep and Laura are going on holiday to a country in Europe.

I would like you to choose a country they could visit and research what a holiday would be like there.

You are doing your research.

I'd like you to complete this fact sheet to help them plan their holiday.

So geographers, a chance to do some fantastic research about how we might go on holiday to Europe.

So we might want to ask some questions like, where are they going to go? Which country would you like Laura and Andeep to visit? What is it like there? What might they do there? Can you find out some information about what the climate is like? Can you find out what language people speak in that country? Can you find out what currency they may use? Can you find out how you might travel to that country? Using all of this information, what might they need to pack? Is this going to be a really hot country? Is it going to be a cold country? Are they going to be doing lots of activities? Are they going to need to keep cool? Think about those things when you write a list about what needs to be packed.

And finally, why did you choose this location? What was it that attracted you? Is it somewhere you've always wanted to visit? Did you do some research and think, "Wow, that looks an amazing place for a holiday?" Okay, geographers, try and plan a fact sheet for Laura and Andeep.

Off you go, I can't wait to see with what you came up.

Wow, so much information there.

Thank you for all your amazing research.

It's an example of a fact sheet that you might have found.

Yeah, we've got a holiday to Marseille in France.

What's it like? Well, it's a big city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

What might you do there? Well, you can go to the beach, you can take a boat trip from the old port, walk along the ancient ruins and visit shops and museums in the city.

What's the climate like there? Marseille has a temperate Mediterranean climate with hot sunny summers and mild winters.

What language do they speak? French is the national language in Marseille.

And in France, what currency do they use? They use the euro and cents in France and in Marseille.

How can you travel there? Well, you can travel there by aeroplane or by train all the way from my hometown to Marseille.

You might need to use the Euro tunnel there.

What would you need to pack? Some clothes for if it's warm.

Currency, comfortable shoes walking and probably definitely a sunhat, sun cream, sunglasses, and a swimsuit for that beautiful Mediterranean sea.

Why did I choose that location? Well, I like to go to sunny places on holiday.

There's lots to do and see in Marseille and I can even use some French words that I learned in school.

I really enjoyed finding out about your places and different places in Europe.

That would be amazing to go on holiday tour as well.

The second part of our lesson is tourism benefits and problems can have lots of benefits for a country.

We're going to do some geographical thinking now.

Can you think of a reason why tourism in a country might be a good thing? Talk to the person next to you.

Pause the video and see if you come up with some ideas.

Why might countries be really happy to have lots of tourists? How might it help them? Off you go.

Wow, so many brilliant ideas that you've come up with.

So tourism can have economic benefits.

For a country, that means it helps to bring in money and this money is really important because the money that is raised from tourists visiting can help run the country.

For example, it can help schools and hospitals.

So many countries want to encourage tourists to visit them because it can help them develop and make things better in their own country.

You can see here a photograph of London.

You can see the House of Parliament and there's Big Ben.

London is a really popular tourist destination.

People come to London from all over the world to see some of the incredible sites and history there, and that means it brings in lots of money to the UK, which means we can use that money to help improve society.

Tourism is also important for another reason.

Many people depend on tourism for a job.

Look at those photographs.

Can you think of a job that's connected with tourism? Those photographs might give you some clues.

Yes, I can see some taxi drivers there.

So some people might drive taxis to help take tourists to at the airport or to different destinations.

I can see a restaurant, so when tourists come to visit cities or places they want to eat and so people can be employed in restaurants.

I can see a lifeguard there checking that everything is okay.

If we have swimming pools and swimming areas, lifeguards help to keep people safe, don't they? You can see someone who works in an airport and they're loading up all the luggage.

So lots of jobs in airports such as baggage handlers or passport control or pilots.

You can see someone there as a tourist guide.

This person is showing people about some of the amazing wildlife in their area as well.

So many people have jobs that are connected with tourism, But we've got to remember that not everyone travels to other countries for a holiday.

Some people take holidays in their own country or even their own locality.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever visited some of the amazing places in the United Kingdom? Maybe you've gone to see relatives or friends in other parts of the country.

Maybe you've decided to go and visit another part of the country you've never been to.

Tourism can happen everywhere, not just in other countries.

Tourism is really amazing because it means that we get to see new people and places and explore other parts of the world.

It can really help us develop as people.

We can learn about history.

We can do some incredible things.

We can have amazing memories and we can find out more about this incredible planet that we live on.

Here is a true or false question.

Tourism doesn't bring any benefits to our country.

Is that true or is that false? Pause the video and have a think.

It's false, isn't it? It's not true that tourism doesn't bring any benefits to the country.

Now why is that statement false? Can we think of a reason which of these two reasons makes more sense? Is it, A, tourism is bad for the environment or is it B? Tourism can have economic benefits provide jobs, and B, a way for people to explore other parts of the world.

Pause the video, talk to the person next to you.

Which of those makes more sense? Brilliant, geographical thinking.

It's B, isn't it? Tourism can have economic benefits, which means it brings money to a country.

It can provide people with jobs and it can be a way for people to explore other parts of the world.

Great thinking, everyone.

Tourism can have lots of benefits.

It also has problems. Some popular tourist destinations might cause overcrowding or traffic jams. In that photograph we could see what looks like a Christmas market, can't we? Hundreds, thousands of people have come to visit this Christmas market from all over parts of the country.

That means there are lots of people in that city centre, which really it gets very crowded.

It means it's going to cause traffic jams and some noise pollution as well.

And the traffic jams are going to create air pollution.

So overcrowding can be a real problem where lots of tourists all want to go and visit the same place.

What problem is this? Tourists might only visit places for part of the year.

If you look at that photograph there of the Alps in Switzerland, many, many people will want to visit the Alps in winter.

They might want to go snowboarding or skiing or they might just want to walk and see the beautiful mountain air.

That means that there are lots of jobs of people at that time of the year in winter, but not so many in summer.

And that's difficult because people might find that if they work in tourism, they might not have a job for the whole year round.

The other photograph of the Algarve.

What time of year do you think most people work? When do you think most tourists visit? Lots of people are going to visit the Algarve in summer, aren't they, to visit the beaches to go swimming and snorkelling.

And so that means there's lots of jobs for people at that time of the year, but not so much when it's winter.

So that can create a lot of insecurity for people.

In some tourist destinations, many flats and houses are used as holiday homes and that can cause problems because it means it's difficult and expensive for local people who want to find somewhere to live.

If you are working in a job there, you need a place to live.

But it could be really difficult and expensive if all of the local houses and flats have been taken up by tourists.

So that's another problem of tourism.

And also tourism can cause environmental problems. Look at a photograph.

We've got a beautiful field, but we've also got a bin overflowing with rubbish, haven't we? So tourism can cause waste and pollution.

Tourists can drop litter if there's lots of cars or boats being driven.

They put out a lot of pollution into the air and this affects plants and animals living in the environment.

However, although tourism can cause environmental problems, it can bring benefits to the environment as well.

Ecotourism is a type of tourism that protects the local environment and benefits local people.

Look at this incredible photograph of a bridge in the rainforest.

Here, tourists can come and they can explore the rainforest on foot so they're not driving around in big trucks.

They can visit remote areas and spend money and that can help local people who live in parts of the rainforest and it helps encourage them as well to care for the animals and the environment and protect the rainforest.

So special tourism can help the environment as well.

Check what we've learned so far.

Which of the following are possible problems of tourism? I want you to select two answers here.

Problems A, tourism is an opportunity for people to meet others.

B, overcrowding, C, pollution, or D, providing jobs.

Pause your video and have a think.

Well done, geographers.

Yes, tourism can cause overcrowding, guarded if too many people want to come and visit the same area.

Secondly, it can cause pollution guarded if tourists drop litter, drive too many vehicles and create pollution.

Well done if you've got those right.

Okay, our final task is this.

On the screen, you can see a number of statements.

All of these statements are about tourism.

You are going to sort these statements into whether they are for tourism or against tourism.

By for tourism, I mean that these statements explain why tourism is a good thing or can bring some benefits either to local communities or to wildlife.

By against tourism, I mean these statements are going to explain why tourism might be a problem and cause problems for local communities or wildlife.

You are going to read them all and sort them into for or against.

Good luck, geographers.

We are going to be using some interpretation skills now, and I look forward to see how well you sort them.

Okay, geographers.

Let's see how you sorted those statements.

So these statements are for tourism.

They're going to say why tourism can be a positive thing.

Tourism can create lots of job opportunities.

Ecotourism can help preserve nature.

Tourists bring in money, which could be used to pay for services like schools and hospitals and tourism can help people understand more about different people around the world.

Payments are for tourism.

They're explaining why tourism can be a benefit to people.

These statements are against tourism.

Lots of tourists in an area can increase the amount of traffic in an area.

In some tourist destinations, lots of houses are used as holiday homes.

Jobs in tourism often last for only part of the year.

And tourism in some areas can disturb wildlife.

All of these statements talk about some of the problems of tourism.

Did you manage to sort them into the for or against correctly? Brilliant, geographical thinking if you did.

So let's summarise our learning today about tourism in Europe.

Countries in Europe are popular tourist destinations for different reasons.

Physical features such as mountains and coastlines attract many tourist each year.

Human features such as museums and historic buildings attract many tourists each year.

Tourism can provide economic benefits that can have environmental problems. That's so much for learning this unit of geography with me.

I hope that now you have a much better understanding of the constant of Europe and the great diversity within it.

Thanks for all your participation in this learning.

Go, geographers.