IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

International tourism has brought about enormous benefits to many places. At the same time, there is concern about its impact on local inhabitants and environment. Do the disadvantages of international tourism outweigh the advantages. 

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

It is undoubtedly true that the tourism industry is booming and cross-country travel is playing a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of these tourist destinations. However, there has been a growing concern about the detrimental effects of the travel industry on the local inhabitants and the natural surroundings. This essay will try to critically analyze the merits and demerits of this intercountry tourism. 

On the one hand, international tourism leads to prosperity of the host nation and the local people at various levels. Firstly, in order to provide hospitality to the growing number of visitors, there is infrastructure development in the form of better roads, transport facilities, and improved law and order, which benefits the local too. For example, Thailand and Cambodia, have emerged as attractive tourist destinations of the South-East Asian region due to their easy and connectivity to the rest of the world. Secondly, it helps as a major source of revenue generation for the host country. Due to the ever-increasing influx of the visitors, there are more employment opportunities especially, in the hospitality sector, for the hosts. This, in turn, leads to an improvement in one overall quality of life of the people. It also generates revenue for the government and helps the nation to tide over its financial crisis. Case in point, Cambodia has improved its economic condition by projecting its ancient tourist attractions like Angkor Thom and Angkor Vat to the world. Even Hollywood movies have been shot in the country leading to an influx of foreign currency.

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On the other hand, international tourism is a double-edged sword. There is a problem of price hike in the local goods due to increased tourist demands. This, in turn, leads to the hike in the cost of daily use goods which effect the local people. The prices of land and property shoot up. Moreover, there an adverse effect on the local environment of the region due to overcrowding leading to more pollution to the atmosphere and destruction of the natural reserves. 

Having discussed both the aspects, it is clearly evident that the advantages of international tourism clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, in my opinion, steps need to be taken at the government and individual levels so that the disadvantages can be minimized and the prosperity of the region continues. 

Total Words: 383

Task Achievement: 9

Coherence & Cohesion: 9

Lexical resources: 9

Grammar: 9

Overall Score: Band 9

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