Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English
and I'm Rob. This is the programme
where in just six minutes we discuss
an interesting topic and teach some
related English vocabulary. Well,
joining me to do this is Sam.
Sam: Hello! So what's our interesting
topic today, Rob?
Rob: Something close to our hearts, Sam -
it's travel.
Sam: Great!
Rob: But more and more of us
are travelling to explore the world - many
of us have more leisure time, and the cost
of travelling has become relatively cheaper.
Sam: But here lies the problem - the
places we're visiting are becoming more crowded,
sometimes spoiling the atmosphere
and the beauty - the things we came
to see in the first place!
Rob: This is why we're going to be
discussing how some cities around
the world are putting restrictions
on the tourists who visit. But
that's after I challenge you to answer
this question, Sam! Are you ready?
Sam: Bring it on, Rob!
Rob: According to Mastercard's Global
Destination Cities Index, what was
the most visited city in 2018? Was it...
a) London, b) New York, or c) Bangkok?
Sam: All great places to visit - but I think
I'll stay close to home and say a) London.
Rob: OK. Well, as always I will reveal the
answer later in the programme.
Now, let's start our journey in Italy's
capital city, Rome. Famous for its
Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and
many other things.
Sam: Lots of people are visiting, Rob - and
locals and tourists have differing
attitudes towards the way they respect
these beautiful and historic sites.
Respect here is a verb,
to mean treat something with care.
Rob: Well, the authorities in the city fear
that some tourists are showing
disrespect to the city and have introduced
laws to clampdown on certain behaviour.
Clampdown means officially trying
to stop or limit people doing something.
Sabina Castelfranco is a journalist in
the city. She told BBC Radio 4's
You and Yours programme why new
restrictions have been introduced...
Sabina Castelfranco: The new rules are
really to make sure that tourists
do not misbehave when they are
visiting tourist attractions in Rome.
Romans don't like to see tourists
walking around bare-chested, they
don't like to see them wading in their
fountains - so really the objective is
to improve the life of the city for residents
and for tourists themselves.
Sam: So, the new rules are to stop
tourists misbehaving - that's doing bad
or inappropriate things. I'm sure
not all visitors misbehave
- but those who have been, have been
wading - that's walking through water - in
the famous fountains and
men have not been covering up
the top half of their bodies - so,
going bare-chested.
Rob: Not any more, Sam! These new laws
have banned this with the objective of
improving the life for the people of
Rome - the Romans. An objective is
a plan or aim to achieve something.
Sam: Other laws introduced in Rome,
with the objective of improving the city,
include giving out severe fines to people
who drop litter and to those who attach
'love padlocks' to historic monuments.
Rob: Well, I guess if it makes the city a
nicer place to visit for everyone, then it's
a good idea. Well, let's talk about another
historic old city - Bruges in Belgium. The
old and narrow streets are often packed
with sightseers - so restrictions have
been introduced there. Helen Coffey,
deputy travel editor for the Independent
newspaper, also spoke to the You and
Yours programme, to explain
what is going on...
Helen Coffey: Bruges was the latest city
to say we're going to introduce new
regulations to crack down on what
they called the Disneyfication
of their city. A really key one is they're
going to cap the number of cruises that
can dock, and actually this a big one that
lots of cities do. They basically don't like
cruise visitors because cruise visitors
don't spend money.
Sam: So Helen mentioned a crackdown -
which like clampdown - means
taking action to restrict or stop
certain activities. And Bruges wants to
crack down on the Disneyfication of the city.
Rob: This term describes turning
something into an artificial, not real,
commercial environment, similar to
a Walt Disney theme park. I'm not
sure it's that similar yet, but one way to
maintain the authentic feel of the city is
to cap the number of cruises that can dock.
Sam: Cap means restrict or limit. It's felt
that visitors who come by cruise ship,
don't stay overnight and therefore
don't bring much money into the city.
The message from the city authorities
is 'stay overnight or don't come!'
Rob: Well, one city that has people visiting
for the day or staying longer is the most
visited city in the world - but where is that,
Sam? Earlier I asked you what the most
visited city in 2018 was? Was it...
a) London, b) New York, or c) Bangkok?
Sam: And I said London.
Rob: That was in second place.
The most visited city last year
was Bangkok, in Thailand.
Sam: OK, Rob. Well, maybe what I can
get right is a recap of today's vocabulary.
Starting with respect.
If you respect something
you treat it with care.
Rob: We also discussed clampdown,
which means officially trying to stop
or limit people doing something.
Crackdown is a similar phrase.
Sam: To misbehave is to do something
bad or inappropriate. And an objective is
a plan or aim to achieve something.
Rob: Our next word is Disneyfication - a
term that describes turning something
into an artificial, not real,
commercial environment, similar
to a Walt Disney theme park.
Sam: And finally we had cap - which
means restrict or limit.
Rob: Well, we've had to cap this
programme at 6 minutes - and we're
out of time. Goodbye!
Sam: Bye bye!