Social Media Tourism
WORKSHEET
Vocabulary
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To move up or down on a screen to look at posts, messages, or pictures.Intrusive
Making someone feel uncomfortable by getting too close or involved in their personal space.Compelled
Feeling like you have to do something, even if you don’t want to.Privacy
The right to keep your personal life and space free from other people.Overtourism
When too many people visit a place and it causes problems for the area or the people who live there.Influencer
A person on social media who has many followers and can affect what people buy or do.Rescue
To help someone out of danger.Selfie
A photo you take of yourself, often with a phone or camera.Discover
To find or learn about something for the first time.Attract
To make people want to go somewhere or do something.
Grammar Points
Past Simple
Talk about completed past actions (e.g., “I saw it on Instagram”).Present Perfect
Actions at an unspecified past time or with present relevance (e.g., “I’ve had many visitors”).Passive Voice
Focus on the action, not who does it (e.g., “It was posted online”).First Conditional
Real future possibilities (e.g., “If too many people visit, it causes problems”).Modal Verbs (should, must, could)
Advice or criticism (e.g., “They should plan carefully”).Relative Clauses
Extra information about people or things (e.g., “People who follow me on Instagram”).
Activities
Activity 1
Relative Clauses
Instructions
Complete the sentences using the correct relative pronoun (who, which, that). Use who when you talk about people and use which or that when you talk about things.
1. An influencer is a person ________ has many followers on social media.
2. Social media posts ________ show beautiful places attract many visitors.
3. People ________ visit without planning carefully may need help from the rescue team.
4. The pictures________ people share online often show beautiful places.
Activity 2
Write a Review
Instructions
Write a short review of a place you discovered online. Use vocabulary from the lesson and try to include relative clauses and modal verbs if possible. Write 5–7 sentences.
Include in your review:
What the place looks like
Why you want to visit it
How you found it (e.g., Instagram, TikTok)
Any advice for someone visiting
Activity 3
True or False
Instructions
Read the statements below and write True or False. If the statement is false, correct it.
Castle Combe is a very busy village because of social media.
Overtourism means that not enough people visit a place.
An influencer helped a business get more bookings by posting online.
The rescue team says that most rescue calls happen because people plan carefully.
Some tourists take selfies in dangerous places.
Social media never changes the places people visit.
Questions
What is the name of the village that became busy because of social media?
What does the rescue team say is the reason for many emergency calls?
Do you think social media has a positive or negative effect on tourism? Why?
TRANSCRIPT
Social Media Tourism
NARRATOR:
When we scroll through social media, we often see pictures of beautiful places. These places look perfect, so more and more people want to visit them in real life. One example is Castle Combe, a small village in the Cotswolds. It’s now very busy because of social media.
SOUNDBITE - Vox Pop 1:
“I saw it on Instagram and I said it was so beautiful, so I wanted to come here.”
SOUNDBITE - Vox Pop 2:
“I heard a lot about it on TikTok and I heard a lot about social media on the net as well. It was really pretty. So I came here to just have a look at it and see how it is.”
NARRATOR:
Georgina moved to Castle Combe several years ago to have a quiet life. But now, it’s very different. Many tourists come to take photos, and this makes her feel uncomfortable.
SOUNDBITE - Georgina:
“It is very intrusive and I always feel compelled to rush indoors and hide from it. You know, we've had people say, ‘oh, I didn't think people lived here’, and of course people live here.”
NARRATOR:
For Georgina, it feels like her privacy is gone. When too many people visit a place, it’s called “overtourism”. For local people, it can be a big problem. But for some businesses, it’s also an opportunity.
SOUNDBITE - Caron Cooper:
“Only last week I had an influencer from America that stayed here and she was in one of the B and B rooms, the Pink Room. And since it's been posted just a week ago, I've had a huge amount of interest for people that sort of like, have followed me on Instagram and also looked at my website and made bookings.”
NARRATOR:
In other places like the Lake District, beautiful views have always attracted tourists. But these places can also be dangerous.
Phil has helped rescue people in the mountains for many years. But now, his work is very different. Today, about 70% of his rescue calls could be avoided. He says social media is one of the reasons why. Some people see a photo online and want to visit that exact place. But they don’t always plan carefully.
SOUNDBITE - Phil Gerrard:
“So, people going to see somewhere on Instagram, visiting that spot, but not thinking about how they're going to get there, how they're going to get back down again and then they’re actually taking selfies falling off the rocks.”
NARRATOR:
Social media helps us discover new places. But when too many people visit, does it change the place too much?