Pomfret takes action to control tourist visits

Nick's ESL News Lessons

A printable worksheet for news-based English conversation classes.

Date: 2024/09/09

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Pomfret takes action to control tourist visits

Vocabulary Match

influencers •• trash
issues •• popular social media users
littering •• equal
restore •• land
balance •• bring back
property •• problems

Vocabulary Answers

influencerspopular social media users
issuesproblems
litteringtrash
restorebring back
balanceequal
propertyland

Article

The small town of Pomfret, Vermont, has taken strong actions to stop many social media influencers and tourists from visiting. This town is famous for its beautiful autumn leaves, especially on Cloudland Road and at Sleepy Hollow Farm. Many people come to take perfect fall photos, but this has caused problems.

The town's leaders decided to close important roads, like Cloudland Road, from September 23 to October 15. This stops non-residents from visiting during the busy "leaf-peeping" season. They made this choice because residents had big issues like road damage, littering, and even tourists using private property as toilets.

One resident said, "We needed to restore peace and safety." Pomfret's actions have started talks about how to balance tourism and local life, especially in places popular on social media.

Quiz

  1. Why did Pomfret close important roads?
  2. When are the roads closed?
  3. What problems did the residents face?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. Pomfret closed important roads to stop non-residents from visiting.
  2. The roads are closed from September 23 to October 15.
  3. The residents faced problems like road damage, littering, and tourists using private property as toilets.

Conversation

A:Have you seen all the tourists coming into my back garden lately?
B:Yeah, I've seen them. It's all because your apple tree looks like Newton's, isn't it?
A:Exactly! They've been trampling my flowers, taking photos, and even climbing over the fence.
B:That's so frustrating. Didn't some of them even try to pick the apples without asking?
A:Oh, yes. And don't even get me started on the rubbish they leave behind. I've had enough of it.
B:That's terrible. You need to do something to stop them.
A:Actually, I'm thinking about starting a guided tour and charging an entrance fee!

Discussion

  1. Have you ever visited a place that was very crowded with tourists?
  2. What do you think about taking photos of nature?
  3. How can we keep beautiful places clean?
  4. What would you do if tourists came to your town?

Source Material

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231011-pomfret-vermont-the-fall-foliage-town-that-banned-influencers

MORE: