TOPIC 1: What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of TIC (Tourists Information Service) and websites as sources of information for tourists and visitors? Which skills are important if you work in a TIC?TOPIC 2: Give a tourist information advice and recommendation for your hometown or an interesting place. (a general description about that place, natural features, places to visit, nightlife and entertainment, shopping, etc.)TOPIC 3: What is rural tourism? Choose an area in Vietnam or any country in the world can offer rural tourism and tell about how long there has been rural tourism, what sort of accommodation is available, what types of activities visitors can do, etc.TOPIC 4: Can you think of any rural tourism activities that you may find in Vietnam? Which area of Vietnam seems the most exciting to you? Explain.TOPIC 5: What do you likedislike about your job as tour operator in the future? How do you make your tours interesting?TOPIC 6: What job opportunities are there for tour operators in your area? What qualifications and experience do the companies require? What training do they give?TOPIC 7: Identify the differences between mass tourism and niche tourism. Give examples. Which is growing faster?TOPIC 8: Identify a destination you have travelled. Make a list of the attractions, accessibility, costs, standards of living and culture of this destination and introduce to visitors. TOPIC 9: What are the main factors that determine which locations become tourist destinations? Explain and give examples.TOPIC 10: What do you need to do to work productively and efficiently in the tourism industry?
Trang 1SPEAKING TEST
TOPIC 1: What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of TIC (Tourists Information Service) and websites as sources of information for tourists and visitors? Which skills are important if you work in a TIC?
Advantages:
- TICs can provide detail information for customer Besides, customers can book advance for service (accomodation, theater tickets,…)
- TICs provide leaflets and brochures some attractions, entertainment
- TICs has staff who will help customers
- Website is an easy way for customers to search inf, website also has detail inf and FAOs to help customers
Disavantages:
- TICs: can waste some of money to design leaflets, buy equipment like monitor,…
- Website: if you don’t have internet you can’t conect to the website, have a lot
of websites were hacked,…
Which skills are important if you work in TICs?
- To work in TIC, a pleasant and helpful personality is essential You should have a good telephone manner, be able to work with computers, and have good written skills Knowledge of a foreign language is also useful
Trang 2TOPIC 2: Give a tourist information advice and recommendation for your hometown
or an interesting place (a general description about that place, natural features, places
to visit, nightlife and entertainment, shopping, etc.)
Each student has his/her own answers
Da Nang City is called as the most worth-living city of Vietnam It is bounded by the beautiful Hai Van pass in the north, Ba Na mountain in the Northwest and the uninhabited Son Tra peninsula in the East
Da Nang is situated by Han River and Da Nang bay with beautiful beaches stretching over 30km from Son Tra peninsula to Non Nuoc beach
Da Nang beaches have wide unobstructed space, splendid seaside resorts, deep blue sea water and very spacious roads
Ba Na Hills is a hill station and resort located in the Truong Son Mountains west of Da Nang City The station, advertised as "the Da Lat of Danang province" by local tourism authorities, was founded in 1919 by French colonists Take an extra layer or two whatever time of year you visit – when it’s 36°C on the coast, it could be 15°C on the mountain Cloud and mist also cling to the hill top, so if you can, try to visit on a clear day
“Bánh bèo” is a heritage dish of central Vietnam; it is especially famous in Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang You can add some fish sauce or tangy chilli sauce to go with it Order bánh bèo chén and they’d bring out a tray of 5-6 bowls One of the best places to go is Ba Dieu House on 17 Tran Tong Street
From city center through Han River Bridge, you will travel about 8km before reaching Son Tra Its very beautiful beaches include Nam, Rang, But, Tien Sa, Con and Bac
There are many supermarkets all over the city such as Co.opMart, LotteMart or BigC And of course there are the fabulous night markets: Han Market and Con Market on Hung Vuong Street
Trang 3TOPIC 3: What is rural tourism? Choose an area in Vietnam or any country in the world can offer rural tourism and tell about how long there has been rural tourism, what sort of accommodation is available, what types of activities visitors can do, etc
Rural tourism can be defined as the ‘country experience’ which include a wide range of
attractions and activities that take place in agricultural area Its characteristics such as wide-open spaces, low levels of tourism development, and opportunities for visitors to directly experience agricultural for the purpose of enjoyment, education, or active participation in the activities of the farm
For example, Ben Tre is one of the place where has advantage to develop rural tourism
with many green fruit gardens There are agriculture productions such as coconut, rice, corn, pineapple, custard-apple, star apple (vú sữa), durian, mango, longan (nhãn), and many more but furthermore visitors have a chance to pluck fruits by themselves at the garden Besides, visitors can visit some famous places like Con Phung – a Hillock ( đồi nhỏ) of the coconut religion then row the boat across Tiền river or Vam Ho Bird
Sanctuary or Lách Market – where is called the capital of fruits On the other hand, I recommend visitors should stay at Riverside Resort, Viet Uc Hotel or Ham Luong Hotel
to enjoy the river sightseeing and taste some special foods as coconut candy, “chuoi dap”,
Trang 4TOPIC 4: Can you think of any rural tourism activities that you may find in Vietnam? Which area of Vietnam seems the most exciting to you? Explain
Vietnam is proud of a beautiful Asian country with a large number of landscapes, magnificent wonders, heritages and especially the areas of agriculture By choosing rural tourism in Vietnam, tourists can:
Birdwatching
Visit traditional craft villages to see the ways of making Vietnam's traditional products such as ceramics of the Bat Trang village…
Work in the field, experience first-hand Vietnam’s famous wet rice civilization
Cook and enjoy local food
Visit the market, cultural village of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups
Visit fruit-tree gardens
Go fishing
Homestay
Contemplate landscapes such as waterfalls, picturesque springs and verdant forest
If you like a rural tour, Nghe An will be one of the best options Because Nghe An is one
of provinces in Vietnam where preserved traditional craft villages, the folk songs, culinary culture, costumes, stilt architectures and unique culture of ethnic minorities Besides, Nghe An has beautiful landscapes and fresh air, suitable for people to rest and relax Some attractive destination in Nghe An are Xieng village, Nua village, Yen Thanh village and Hoa Tien village
Trang 5TOPIC 5: What do you like/dislike about your job as tour operator in the future? How
do you make your tours interesting?
Actually, if I work as a tour operator in the future, I’ll try to make a perfect itinerary for customers and deal with other services like hotels, restaurants, to get the best price or by researching the information everyday, I can learn more knowledge about custom, habit, culture, geography, history, that’s one of the way to show my skills and do my favourite works but sometimes I’ll have a little bit stressful because of the schedule, some customers satiate with usual tours so I must find some new places and make the unique itinerary for them On the other hand, I have to solve the problem in any tour what I have responsibility Visitors always want to try something new, original so that’s the reason why I usually design some new game to make my tours interesting, for example, a sweet game for couples in valentine tour or a game to connect family’s affection,
- I can make my tours interesting by:
+ Regularly updated with new attractions; modern, amenities hotels; delicious restaurants to made tourists feel comfortable, peaceful and interested
+ There also are promotions or gifts for tourists at a holiday occasion or a particular day to stimulate the tourist buy tours
+ Creating a collective game of the tour trips to create excitement, fun for tourists
+ Increasing recruitment of male or female tour guide with their looks, ability to communicate well, good management game, highly specialized capabilities In general, depending on the tourists which tour operator will choose tour guide suitable for that tourists
+ There are appropriate gifts to encourage team play excellent or outstanding individuals during the tour
Trang 6TOPIC 6: What job opportunities are there for tour operators in your area? What qualifications and experience do the companies require? What training do they give?
What job opportunities are there for tour operators in your area?
- Nowaday tourist has more develop so in my area have many travel agency Each year tourism needs more 40,000 laborer Not only a opportunity but also a threat to
me To have a good job, I have to gain more experience and improve my language also soft skills
- As a tour operator, you have opportunity to work at: Private touring companies, Small specialist organisers, Major international tour operators, Bespoke tour designers, Cruise liners
What qualifications and experience do the companies require?
- Language skills: if you know many language, you may have more opportunities
to have a good job
- Good organisational skills: the complexity of the Travel and Tourism industry
requires a human touch able to simplify and sort out complex matters Being able
to organise well is a major asset in terms of increased productivity and low wastage of money and time
- Professional integrity and ethics: true in profession, but especially in travel and
tourism, as customers are buying a product they may have neither seen nor experience
- Team Spirit: No company can survive without it We are all parts of a much
bigger machine If the parts don’t do me job they are desinged and progarmmed to do,the machine stops functioning It’s as simple as that
- Good knowledge of geography: because go many place, I must have knowledge
about geography, natural resources, to explain to customers Even if you didn’t study it in school or university, there is no shortage of tools to help me with geograply, from internet, travel guidebooks, television programmes
Trang 7- Finance, Accouting and Managerial skills: important if you want to move up the
coprorate ladder To advance my career, I need to be good at strategic planning and deal-making My persuasive skills have to be outstanding
What training do they give?
• A demonstrable interest in travel
• Knowledge of key holiday destinations
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Customer service skills
• Good time management skills
Trang 8TOPIC 7: Identify the differences between mass tourism and niche tourism Give examples Which is growing faster?
Mass tourism:
Regular tourism involving large numbers
of tourists in staged settings
• cheap package tours
• economies of scale
• international hotel chains
• large tourist resorts
Specializes in cheap package tours, huge tourist
resorts, international hotel chains and attractions
like Disneyland They create economies of scale
through the sale of standardized leisure packages
to a mass clientele Mass tourism has low margins
in this competitive market
Niche tourism:
Special interest, culture, and/or activity-based on tourism involving a small number of tourist in authentic settings
• potential high profit margins
• high spenders
• small businesses
• small-scale operation
Caters for small groups of people who have a shared special interest Because it’s small-scale, small firms can exploit areas of business that the major tour operators aren’t able to It can offer one-to-one service and high levels of product knowledge It tends to attract high spenders and also has the potential for quite high profit margins
Example:
Tourism niche market focus on small hard subdivided as: food tourism, bicycle tourism, geography tourism, bird watching tour more specifically focused on the thematic forms
of tourism Whereas, mass tourism often visit the famous destination point, the crowded
mall, short holidays
Son Doong Cave is a product in niche tourism
Which is growing faster:
Niche tourism will grow faster Because of its selective customers, bring high economic efficiency less environmental impact than mass tourism types It is this kind of tourism is
to encourage the development
Trang 9TOPIC 8: Identify a destination you have travelled Make a list of the attractions, accessibility, costs, standards of living and culture of this destination and introduce to visitors
Each student has his/her own answers
Three months ago, I had a chance to travel to Thua Thien – Hue with my class We had
so many beautiful memories here together Now, I will share my experiences and for travelling Thua Thien - Hue
Atractions:
1 Hue Citadel is the residence of royal in
Nguyen dynasties (from 1805 to 1945) It’s
very large, you will need more than 1
morning to visit all of attractions
2 Next is Thien Mu Temple, a temple was built in 17th century Vong Canh hill is beautiful hill where the kings usually came to contemplate the nature of Hue
3 Some main mausoleums that you should visit: Khai Dinh, Minh Mang and Tu Duc - 3 greatest tombs in Hue Many tombs were destroyed by enemies of Nguyen dynasty but these greatest tombs still exist until today
After, if having more time, you should explore distant places: Tam Giang lagoon, Bach
Ma mountain
Accessibility:
If you’re in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city, you can go to Hue by bus or train You should go
by train, it’s safe and stable
Costs:
- Bus ticket: 600.000 VND – 650.000 VND from Ho Chi Minh City and 400.000 VND – 450.000 VND from Hanoi Capital
Trang 10- Train ticket: about 700.000 VND from Ho Chi Minh City and about 550.000 VND from Hanoi Capital
- Hotel: Cheap motels and hotels in Hue gather on Le Loi street, near the Truong Tien bridge, prices from 200.000 VND – 500.000 VND, many large rooms can be enough for 4 people
- Cuisine: Foods are also very delicious and diverse The average price is from 30.000 VND – 50.000 VND
Culture:
Hue is one of the main cultural, religious and educational centers of Vietnam So far, Hue
remains to be the only originally historical vestiged city in Vietnam
Located in the center of Vietnam, Hue was the capital city of Vietnam for approximately
150 years during feudal time (1802–1945), and the royal lifestyle and customs have had a significant impact on the characteristics of the people of Hue
Trang 11TOPIC 9: What are the main factors that determine which locations become tourist destinations? Explain and give examples
There are many factors that determine which locations become tourist destinations Some
of these include the following:
• Attractions: This is one of the major factors that influence a tourist's travel decisions
Some attractions are:
• Natural: Ha Long Bay (Vietnam), Trang An Landscape Complex (Vietnam)
• Historical: The Great Wall (China), My Son Temple (Vietnam)
• Artificial: Disney World (USA), Ba Na Hills (Florida)
• Accessibility: Convenient geographical position and a variety of available transport
options are likely to make a location a more popular destination
For example, …
• Cost and Standards of Living: Some locations provide excellent services and luxurious goods, while others provide only basic services and simple goods With remote
destinations, goods and services can be more expensive, less available and in some cases completely absent
• Culture: Culture is defined as the sum of characteristics of a society, including
language, religion, politics, art, food, customs,… Travellers will encounter a variety of cultures around the world and even different cultures within the same geographic area For example, eating beef products is considered a delicacy in one culture, in another it is considered sacrilegious
• Climate: Travellers often cite climate as one of the most important reasons for selecting
one destination over another Knowing a destination's future weather is very important for planning effective travel itineraries For example, the weather in Sapa is cool around year The average temperature is 15ºC that facilitate to develop tourism