Last Updated: 9th March 2021
GT Writing Task 2 (Essay Writing) Sample # 47
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In the past, people used to travel abroad to see the difference from their home country. However, the sceneries in places all around the world seem more and more similar nowadays.
What are the causes of the similarities? Do you think the advantages of these similarities outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Global tourism upsurged during the last two decades and people rushed to exotic cities to enjoy unique features of those places and appreciate the architects and sceneries. However, tourist destinations, in most parts of the world, are becoming similar while compromising their unique cultural and structural features. Globalisation and advancement of technology, in my opinion, are the reason behind this.
Globalisation has unified the world in many different aspects. The same architect is designing the buildings in the US as well as in Europe and Asia. Construction materials for infrastructural development are also the same. So it is obvious that those buildings look alike. Besides, technology has enabled people to learn about foreign cultures and adapt to them pretty swiftly. As a result, unique cultural hallmarks are becoming less obvious while the world is embracing a similar lifestyle, food habit, fashion and technology. This is why a teenager in Tokyo follows the same fashion and style of teenagers from New York. Moreover, MacDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut are popular in Bangkok as they are back in California. Tourist attractions cannot escape from this sweeping trend and that is why Kuala Lumpur is not much different than Beijing or Hong Kong.
This phenomenon might seem advantageous to some, but, in my opinion, disturbing and dangerous for cultural identity and global tourism. People may already have sacrificed too many of their cultural identities despite agreeing that our unique culture is our most treasurable heritage that is supposed to be passed on from generation to generation. Personally, I would not like to travel thousands of miles to land in a city that looks just like mine. So similarities among cities will not benefit the global tourism industries.
In conclusion, we cannot deny the effects of globalisation and how it connects the world. But when it comes to preserving our unique cultural identities and planning our cities, we should be more of a nationalist than a global citizen.