International tourism has become a huge industry in the world. It has brought enormous benefits to many places. At the same time, there is concern about its impact on local inhabitants and the environment. Do the problems of international tourism outweigh its advantages?
Sample Response
The global tourism industry has experienced significant growth, bringing both substantial benefits and costsconcerns. While international tourism has contributed to economic prosperity in many destinations, there are also valid concerns regarding its impact on local communities and the environment. This essay will discuss the advantages and drawbacks of international tourism, and argueoutline that its benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.
The rapid growth of international tourism can strain natural resources and ecosystems. OvertourismOvercrowding and over-tourism in popular destinations can lead to environmental degradation, threatening fragile ecosystems, wildlife, and natural landmarks. Additionally, tourism can create cultural tensions and disrupt local communities' traditional waysway of life. For instance, the Galápagos Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, faces challenges from tourism-related pollution and habitat disturbance that endanger unique species.
By contrastOn the contrary, international tourism has become a key driver of economic growth for many countries. It stimulates local economies by generating employment opportunities, particularly in the hospitality and service sectors. Revenue from tourism can boost infrastructure development, such as airports, roads, and public services, improving the overall quality of life for residents. Countries such as Thailand and SpainCountries like Thailand and Spain, for example, rely heavily on tourism incomeheavily rely on tourism income, and it significantly contributes to their GDP, supporting various businesses and livelihoods.
Moreover, international tourism fosters cultural exchange and understanding between visitors and local inhabitants. Interactions with diverse cultures enhance mutual respect and appreciation for global diversity. It is one of the significant contributors to reducing the gaps among nations and bringing their people together.
In summarypithy, international tourism brings undeniable economic and cultural advantages to destinations worldwide. However, the rapid growth of this industry has raised concerns about its negative impact on the environment and local communities. By adopting sustainable practices and responsible tourism approaches, the benefits of international tourism can be maximized while mitigating its potential problems. Therefore, I believe that its problems do not outweigh the benefits.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The essay’s strongest feature is its direct, well-supported comparison of environmental and social costs with economic and cultural benefits, leading to a consistent judgement. Its main limitation is that a few ideas, particularly cultural exchange, remain more general than the environmental and economic discussion, and several linking or lexical choices are awkward. Deepen that cultural point with a concrete mechanism or example and refine the few unnatural expressions.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Response
The response fully addresses the comparison, maintains a clear position, and develops both problems and advantages with relevant support.
Develop the cultural-exchange benefit with the same specificity given to environmental harm and economic growth.
Coherence and Cohesion
The argument is clearly paragraphed and progresses logically from drawbacks to stronger advantages and a consistent conclusion.
Replace “On the contrary” with a more accurate contrast marker and make the transition into the cultural benefit more explicitly comparative.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is broad and generally precise across environmental, economic, and cultural themes, with only occasional awkward collocations.
Revise expressions such as “In pithy” and “reducing the gaps among nations” into natural academic English.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of sentence structures is used with strong control, while a few reference and agreement lapses remain non-impeding.
Check pronoun reference and agreement in the sentence about Thailand and Spain so the plural countries remain the grammatical subject.
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IELTS Writing Task 2
International tourism has become a huge industry in the world. It has brought enormous benefits to many places. At the same time, there is concern about its impact on local inhabitants and the environment. Do the problems of international tourism outweigh its advantages?
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.