Text B   WhyPeople Travel?

The growth oftourism has become a contemporary phenomenon experienced by all countries inthe world. The international tourist arrivals alone reached as high as 546million in 1994 and are forecasted to rise to 937 million in 2010, according toWTO. But why do people liketraveling so much?

In Maslow's opinion, there is ahierarchy of universal wants and needs found in every human being. Ultimatelyat the top of the hierarchy there are the needs for self-actualization orself-realization, that is, the need to develop one's own potential, the needfor aesthetic stimulation, the need to create or to build one's own personalityand character, etc. Thentourism turns out to be a good solution, since it provides ample chances tosatisfy most of the needs, and the needs, in turn, constitute majormotivational factors for people to travel and go on vacation. Even “self-actualization” may be achieved when along-held dream comes true on a certain trip.

Probably the most commonreason for travel is associated with our physical well-being. Actually,travel for sports is one of the fastest growing generators of travel. The motivational force of spectator sports is, however,more complex. There is the desire to get away from routine, to identify withteams and individuals, which gives people a sense of belonging, and to dream ofthe role one would fulfill if he were playing. Here, the effect may be feltmore mentally than physically. In the fast-moving modern society where strainand stress have become part of an individual's life, people tend to have achange in environment and activities in order to rest and relax.

Another important motivator is connected withculture and curiosity, which is expressed by the desire to know about otherplaces or countries and to search for all kinds of experiences. No one seems todoubt that travel broadens the mind. It was the desirefor knowledge that was the reason for the growth of the Grand Tour. Todaythis desire is widely encouraged by modern mass media and communications suchas television and airplane, which find their ways into every corner of theworld. After one has traveled to a particular place, hetends to be more interested in news items or television programs about it. Bylearning about other cultures one can also discover his own, and thus trulyenriches his mind.

The need for belonging is manifested in the desireto visit friends or relatives, to meet new people and make new friendships. People, by and large, are social beings who wantcommunication and contact with others. In travel, people with this intentionusually put more emphasis on the route of the trip than on the destination. Ofcourse, it does help to encourage travel if the friend or relative lives in anexotic or interesting place. To cater to this need, many travel agenciesspecialize in certain ethnic areas and people, providing specialized tours toreturn and visit "the old country" where some tourists may pick up agenealogical（宗谱的） line or find their roots. The need for esteem isidentified with the desire for recognition, attention, appreciation, andreputation. Such concerns of ego needs and personal development are regarded asstatus and prestige motivators in travel. So far as a pious religious believeris concerned, a trip to the holy shrine of his religion will give him thegreatest satisfaction of fulfilling an inner desire and at the same time bringhim the most important recognition he needs. As a result, the passion play inGermany never fails to draw travelers, nor do the historical sites associatedwith Christ in Israel.

When people travel to aconference to increase their professional knowledge, they are concerned withtheir own personal development. Their self-esteem is enhanced. People also seekesteem from others. It is said that in tourism "mass follows class".The implication is that there are places that special people go, and some go tobe like those special people. To be the first to go to an exotic place, or togo where certain types of people go, offers some excitement and creates anillusion of enviable sophistication among one's friends.

A combination of needs and desires has givenimpetus to one of the largest industries today— the travel industry.Nevertheless, people need more than motivations in order to travel. Two otherelements are essential before one will seriously consider planning a trip; theyare leisure and discretionary income.

Leisure can be defined as freedom from thenecessity to labor. Two aspects of leisure were and areimportant in promoting tourism: the time available for leisure, and peoples'attitude toward leisure. Since World War Two, the amount of leisure timeavailable to an individual has, in general, increased. Theworkweek has decreased from sixty hours to forty hours per week, and thereduction of the workweek will still continue in most developed countries aswell as some developing countries. In addition, changing social conditionshave introduced and established leisure time as a way of life, and leisurebecame a justifiable aspect of the society. The increased time available beganto be spent in the pursuit of recreation and pleasurable activities other thanwork.

Discretionaryincome（可支配收入）, ordisposable income, is money not needed for personal essentials such as food,clothing, health-care, transportation, and so forth. Smaller family size and an increase of women inthe labor market have made today's family more affluent, which greatly promotesthe tourist industry.

Theimprovement in transportation has facilitated travel on a large scale. Theexplosion of railway and automobile travel was followed by dynamic improvementsin air service. Today, inmany countries, elaborate road systems have been built so that a person can gofrom border to border or even across national borders in the case of Europewithout being affected by a single red light or two-way traffic on the sameroadway. The vast network of roads and air connectionsand the mass production of the car at a price many people can afford have ledto the development of a tourist industry unmatched in history. Withincreasing affluence and leisure, and a relative decrease in cost of travel,the growth of the travel industry will surely continue. (1042 words)

 

Exercises:

A. Read the passage and answer the followingquestions.

1. Accordingto Maslow, why do people travel?

2. What’s themost common reason for travel?

3.Whatmotivates spectator sports？

4. What is the reason for the growth of Grand Tour？

5.When peopletravel to a conference, what are they concerned with？

6. Which twoaspects of leisure were and are important in promoting tourism?

7. What isdiscretionary income？

8. What ledto the development of a tourist industry unmatched in history？

 

B. Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1．After one has traveled to a particular place, hetends to be more interested in news items or television programs about it. Bylearning about other cultures one can also discover his own, and thus truly enricheshis mind.

2．In the fast-moving modern society where strain andstress have become part of an individual's life, people tend to have a changein environment and activities in order to rest and relax.

3．People, by and large, are social beings who wantcommunication and contact with others. In travel, people with this intentionusually put more emphasis on the route of the trip than on the destination.

4．The improvement in transportation has facilitatedtravel on a large scale. The explosion of railway and automobile travel wasfollowed by dynamic improvements in air service.

5．The workweek has decreased from sixty hours toforty hours per week, and the reduction of the workweek will still continue inmost developed countries as well as some developing countries.