Unit5  Tourist Resources (II)

TextA  Artificially Created Attractions

Special types of attractions refer tothose attractions that are not particularly related to either natural orcultural features, but are artificially created.

Theme Parks, Amusement Parks and Circuses: Theme parks areoriented to particular themes, such as history, adventure, unusual geographicplaces, fantasy, futurism, cartoon stories, legends and fairy tales, or acombination of these in one park, and offer simulated experiences, shows,thrill rides(高速滑行), shopping, and a variety ofrestaurants and snack bars in a clean and controlled environment. Best known ofthe theme parks are Disneyland in Anaheim(阿纳海姆市),California and Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Theme parks evolved fromamusement parks, which grew out of the entertainment provided at the fairs,carnivals, and circuses of Medieval Europe and Asia. In the USA, Coney Island(孔尼西岛) is one of the most famous amusement parks on the East Coast.Traveling circuses have long been popular, catering(迎合需求) primarily to residents of the area where the circus stops overand are not typically attractions for tourists. However, some permanentcircuses are famous, such as the Russian Circus in Moscow and acrobatic(杂技的) circuses in China and Korea, which attract many tourists whoare visiting these countries.

Shopping: Shopping is a significantactivity and a type of expenditure for many tourists and must be considered asa possible tourist attraction as well as service. The Japanese tourist market,for example, is well known for its high expenditure on shopping for goods totake home. Large department stores, well-known shopping centers, and specialshops handling such items as fashion clothing and jewelry in many touristdestination cities attract many tourists visiting there. Even if tourists donot spend large amounts on shopping, tourists often want to take home somemementos(纪念物) of their travels.

Meetings,Conferences and Conventions: Domestic andinternational conference and convention tourism, including small meetings,training courses, seminars(研讨会), and workshops as well as largeconferences and conventions, is a significant type of tourism throughout theworld and is steadily expanding in all countries. Many countries, regions,cities, resorts and individual hotels have developed various types of meetingfacilities and services. Conference tourism seems to function best in locationsthat offer a range of nearby attractions and activities for conference-goers(会议出席者)and their spouses, who would engage in sightseeing, shopping, eating out,entertainment and recreation before, during and after the conferences.

SpecialEvents: Special events, such as sports, fairsand expositions, can be majortourist attractions for short time periods. These are organized for the purposeof attracting tourists, enhancingnational or regional prestige,and gaining new facilities for permanent use. International sports events, such as the Olympics,Commonwealth(英联邦), and Asia games, may draw globalinterest, while others are of widespread national importance. Internationalfairs and expositions can attract both international and domestic tourists.

GamblingCasinos: Gambling casinos(赌场) have been developed in certain places as major attractions,but usually in areas that have limited natural and cultural attraction featuresand where there is little negative social impact from gambling on the localresidents. Nevada(内华达), especially the cities of Las Vegas(拉斯维加斯市) and Reno(里诺市),in the USA, has become a major tourism destination based on gambling casinos supplemented by entertainment.

Entertainment: Entertainment is a broad category and has already been referredto relative to the traditional and contemporary performing arts nightclubs,discos, and some restaurants in tourism areas providing evening entertainmentthat is popular with many tourists and considered essential for successfuloperation of some hotels and resorts. In some places the focus is placed onproviding entertainment that has some basis in the local culture, such as folkdancing and singing, while in other areas the ‘international’ type ofcontemporary music and dance is considered quite appropriate.

Recreationand Sports: Most recreational facilities are of alocal scale catering to residents of an area. But some types can be importantprimary or secondary attractions for tourists, such as championship golfcourses and tennis centers, polo(马球运动) grounds, horse and other types ofrace tracks, and stadiums for major spectator sports such as football, soccer, baseball, basketball,rugby, and bull fights. Some major sports events such as the annual Rose Bowlin Southern California attract national and international interest.

Hotels andResorts: Particularly well-designed historic,or unusual hotels and resorts can beattractions in themselves. Usually, high quality service is associated withthese types of hotels and resorts. In surveying and evaluating touristattractions in an area, opportunities should be noted for conversion(变化) of historic and interesting buildings into accommodation, or complexesof such buildings into holiday villages.

Transportation:Interesting, historic and unusual forms of transportation can be made intoattractions, such as the Palace on Wheels tour in northern India, the revived1920s Orient Express rail trip in Europe, the 19th century steamboat tours onthe Mississippi River(密西西比河) in the USA, the Nile River(尼罗河) cruises in Egypt, and camel trekking in the Sahara(撒哈拉沙漠). Typically, but not always, these types of tours offer high qualityservices.

Cuisine: Thefood of an area, in addition to being an important service for tourists, can bea significant secondary tourist attraction, especially if the area offers aspecial type of cuisine that is well prepared and presented. For specialinterest gourmet(美食家) tours, cuisine is the primaryattraction. (885 words)

 

Exercises:

A. Readthe passage and answer the following questions.

1. What do the special types ofattractions refer to?

2. What do the special types ofattractions include?

3. Which are the best known theme parksto tourists according to the passage?

4. What is the purpose of organizingspecial events such as sports, fairs and expositions?

5. In which areas have gambling casinosbeen usually developed?

6. What should be the opportunitiesnoted for in surveying and evaluating tourist attractions in an area?

7. What are examples of transportationattractions mentioned in the passage?

8. What is the primary attraction forspecial interest gourmet tour?

 

B.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1. Theme parks evolved from amusementparks, which grew out of the entertainment provided at the fairs, carnivals,and circuses of Medieval Europe and Asia.

2. Shopping is a significant activityand a type of expenditure for many tourists and must be considered as apossible tourist attraction as well as service.

3. Entertainment is a broad category andhas already been referred to relative to the traditional and contemporary performingarts nightclubs, discos, and some restaurants in tourism areas providingevening entertainment that is popular with many tourists and consideredessential for successful operation of some hotels and resorts.

4. In surveying and evaluating touristattractions in an area, opportunities should be noted for conversion(变化)of historic and interesting buildings into accommodation, or complexes of suchbuildings into holiday villages.

5. The food of an area, in addition tobeing an important service for tourists, can be a significant secondary touristattraction, especially if the area offers a special type of cuisine that iswell prepared and presented.