A Mountain Resort
Vocabulary
| care for | carriage | sell out (2) |
| sleigh | retailer | walk past |
| crisis | afford | sharp (3) |
| plunge | sink (2) | reserved (2) |
| slope | attract | bear fruit |
| book (2) | primary | expectation |
| hope | show up | compared to |
| revenue | generous | pay attention |
Video
Transcript
The carriages are sitting empty; they used to be sold out.
Now the few tourists here just walk past.
But the horses still have to be fed and cared for.
Horse carriage driver: “The few tourists who still come here won’t be using our services. The Russians used to book us for group sleigh rides.
If they won’t be coming, there won’t be any carriage drivers anymore.”
Zakopane is a leading resort in Poland’s Tatra Mountains. The town is not only popular with Polish tourists.
Until recently, many visitors came from Ukraine and Russia.
But the Ukraine crisis has led to a sharp drop from Poland’s eastern neighbors.
Cezary Tur, Grand Hotel Nosalowy Dwor: “Between the third and tenth of January alone, people from the East made up 80% to 90% of all the tourists in Zakopane.
And it was that group that booked up to 90% of our rooms.”
Travelers who still come to Zakopane despite the crisis, often can’t afford to buy very much.
The strength of the Polish Zloti means that everything is much more expensive for Russian and Ukrainian tourists whose currencies have plunged in value.
Janusz Majcher, Former Mayor of Zakopane: “Hotel and restaurant owners and retailers are especially feeling the decline in the number of tourists because Russians and Ukrainians used to spend a lot of money here.
Revenues are sinking.”
Usually, Zakopane attracts some two million visitors a year, with its ski slopes, mountains and fresh air.
Tourism is the primary source of income for the city’s 27,000 residents.
Even sales of the local cheese specialty, oshtipek, have plunged.
Cheese seller: “It’s much worse than last year. But we’ll survive.”
So Zakopane has decided to attract visitors from Western Europe. But it’s ad campaign has not yet born any fruit.
And now is the season when Orthodox Russians used to celebrate Christmas in Zakopane.
But few are showing up.
Eastern customers also have different expectations compared to Westerners:
Marcin Kolodziej, Owczarnia Restaurant: “Customers from Eastern Europe are very demanding: they want to drink and eat a lot. They want to have lots of fun.
And the don’t pay any attention to how much it costs.”
Western Europeans tend to be more reserved — and less generous.
People in Zakopane are hoping that at least they have lots of snow this year: a long ski season could certainly make up for the loss revenue.
Questions
Monday. Everyone in Zakopane travels by car and taxi. Is this right or wrong?
Tuesday. Talk about the past, present and future of the carriage drivers.
Wednesday. Most of the tourists have come from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. True or false? Where have the tourists come from?
Thursday. Have spending habits and purchasing patterns changed? If yes, how has spending changed? Why has it changed?
Friday. Zakopane is a city with various different industries. People work in many different industries. Is this correct or wrong?
Saturday. Is the cheese seller happy and delighted? Is she optimistic, pessimistic, both, neither or in the middle?
Sunday. Are Western and Eastern European guests the same? How does the restaurateur compare Western and Eastern European visitors?
Europe. Is tourism an important part of your town or city’s economy? What are some tourist attractions?
North America. Are there towns or cities in your country that are dependent on tourism?
South America. How could your town or city benefit or profit from tourism? How could it increase tourism?
Africa. Are there any negative aspects of tourism?
Asia. What will happen to tourism in the future?
