🌍 ESL Lesson Plan: Sustainable Tourism
Lesson Objective: Students will learn key vocabulary and concepts about sustainable tourism, practice discussing real-world issues, and produce written work proposing sustainable initiatives.
Warm-Up Definition:
Sustainable tourism means traveling in ways that protect the environment, respect local cultures, and benefit local communities, while ensuring that future generations can also enjoy the same destinations.
1. Discussion: Sustainable Tourism
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What comes to mind when you hear the term sustainable tourism?
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Do you think tourism can have a negative impact on the environment or culture? How?
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What are some tourist destinations in your country that could benefit from more sustainable practices?
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Why is it important to preserve natural and cultural assets for tourism?
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How can local communities benefit from tourism?
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Can you think of examples of eco-friendly or “green” tourism?
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Do you prefer fast, busy trips to many places, or slow travel to fewer destinations? Why?
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Do you think technology (AI, big data, blockchain) can really make tourism more sustainable?
2. Vocabulary: Sustainable Tourism
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eco-friendly (adj.) – not harmful to the environment.
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carbon footprint (n.) – the total greenhouse gases caused by a person, organization, or activity.
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cultural erosion (n.) – the gradual loss of traditional culture due to outside influence.
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resilient (adj.) – able to recover quickly from difficulties.
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slow travel (n.) – a style of tourism where travelers spend more time in fewer places to reduce impact.
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green certification (n.) – official recognition that a business meets sustainability standards.
👉 Fill in the blanks:
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Staying at an __________ hotel helps protect the environment.
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Airplane travel greatly increases your __________.
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When traditional music and customs are lost due to mass tourism, this is called __________.
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Tourism needs to be more __________ so it can survive future shocks like pandemics.
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__________ encourages travelers to spend more time in one destination.
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Many hotels now apply for __________ to prove they care about sustainability.
Comprehension questions:
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Can you give examples of eco-friendly practices in tourism?
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Why is slow travel seen as more sustainable?
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Do you think green certifications are effective? Why or why not?
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What are the risks of cultural erosion in tourist destinations?
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How can tourism become more resilient in the future?
3. Reading: The Future of Global Tourism Must Be Sustainable
Read here: The Future of Global Tourism Must Be Sustainable
Discussion after reading:
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According to the text, why is sustainable tourism becoming more important?
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What are some innovations shaping the future of sustainable tourism?
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How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the tourism industry?
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What role do governments and consumers play in shaping sustainable tourism?
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Do you think sustainable tourism can really become the new standard worldwide?
4. Conversation Questions
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Would you be willing to pay more for eco-friendly travel options? Why or why not?
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What examples of sustainable tourism exist in your country?
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Should governments force companies to adopt sustainable practices, or should it be voluntary?
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What are some simple choices travelers can make to reduce their environmental impact?
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How do you think future generations will travel differently from us today?
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If you were a tourism minister, what policies would you create to promote sustainability?
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Do you think slow travel will become more popular in the future? Why?
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What could make sustainable tourism more attractive to mainstream travelers?
5. Writing Task
Write a short proposal for a sustainable tourism initiative in your city or country.
Include:
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The goal of the project (environmental, cultural, or social).
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The steps needed to achieve it.
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The expected benefits for both tourists and the local community.
✨ This plan mirrors the Brands lesson plan format while adapting all content to Sustainable Tourism.
Would you like me to now create the student handout version (simplified, no teacher notes, visually clean with just definitions, exercises, and questions)? That way you’ll have both a teacher’s guide and a student worksheet.
