Essay 123 – Tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult

Last Updated: 9th July 2021

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 123

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Today more and more tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult, such as the Sahara Desert or the Antarctic.

What are the benefits and disadvantages for tourists who visit such places?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.


Model Answer:

There is an increasing trend for travellers exploring harsh places, like the Sahara desert or the South Pole of Earth, of late. It confers both advantages and disadvantages to the explorers and the writer will expound on both of them in the essay.

There are many advantages of visiting places with extreme ambience. A trip to a place with difficult conditions is quite an adventure for the tourists. For example, the South Pole sky is the ultimate degree of expedition according to many daredevils. Moreover, tourists can get a glimpse into the wildlife that no aquarium or zoo can ever really replicate. For example, Antarctica is the paradise of the world’s most rare species such as the Weddell seal, emperor penguin, albatross, petrel, to mention but a few. Besides, adventurers can take stunning photographs of breathtaking landscapes. A case in point is the Sahara Desert. From beautiful oasis to brilliant white colours of the stones are best seen in the sweet light of the morning and dusk hours when surreal images can be taken.

Despite these benefits, places such as the Antarctic, Mount Everest or the Sahara Desert can prove extremely risky for tourists. The expedition could be terribly dangerous; nobody is able to predict the weather conditions of the earth’s coldest continent or hottest regions, as things could go against the plan all of a sudden. The temperatures can plummet to nearly 130F or winds can reach 322 kilometres per hour. Besides, crevasses, the clefts in the ice hundreds of feet deep, are lurking threats while travelling around the Antarctic. A very good example is a research team consisting of Jeremy Bailey, John Wilson, and David Wild. In 1965, they lost their lives in a crevasse accident during an expedition from the British Antarctic Survey base of Halley Bay. Thus, grave danger lurks around everywhere that tourists can lose their lives during exploration.

To conclude, although the expedition into the places with extreme conditions offers overwhelming advantages to the daredevils, they may perish in these harsh places as lurking dangers present everywhere. Therefore, tourists should be given adequate training for the hazards of places with inhospitable weather.

4 Comments to “Essay 123 – Tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult”

  1. The article is pretty good. But the facts and the words are way beyond my mastery. How am I supposed to know albatross, 322 kilometres, Jeremy Bailey, Halley Bay, crevasses?

    1. Please give an example of a place that you know about, and not about the places that have been mentioned in this essay.

  2. Today more and more tourists are visiting places where conditions are difficult, such as the Sahara Desert or the Antarctic.

    What are the benefits and disadvantages for tourists who visit such places?

    It is widely observed that nowadays, people are more engaged in adventurous trips to challenging places like the Sahara Desert or the Antarctic in their leisure time. In my opinion, it is advantageous to travel to such locations, since it leads to unwinding, as well as provides an opportunity to explore numerous challenges. However, on the flip side, it is risky. This essay will discuss both the merits and demerits of such challenging trips.

    On the one hand, there are various kinds of benefits of having experiences of travelling to extreme places. Firstly, people travelling to a challenging location are able to rejuvenate themselves and get rid of boredom. Secondly, individuals could explore the difficult circumstances in these regions and learn how to survive in such situations. For instance, as per a survey conducted by a renowned social committee in Canada, it was analysed that 70% of people who have travelled to the places such as The Sahara Desert, Mount Everest and so on, feel energized and stronger to face the challenges in life.

    However, this is extremely risky. Without the help of a guide, and proper training and skills, the travellers may become prone to accidents along the journey; especially those who are initially venturing to these tough venues. Another disadvantage is there are chances to get attacked by venomous wild animals roaming around these areas. As hard the conditions are, the animals that exist in those areas are wilder to adapt to those living environments. In particular, the well-known anacondas residing in Amazon rain forests are considered to be one of the most deadly species in the world. So when people travel to such locations, they can face danger and even life threats from such deadly animals.

    To conclude, travelling to tough and challenging places with difficult living conditions may help one to improve skills and confidence and make one better suited to face challenges, but such risk-filled trips may turn out to be a waste of money and in the worst-case scenario a loss of life. So extreme cautions should be taken along with expert guides while travelling to such places.

  3. The question states “benefits and disadvantages for tourists”. I do not find the 3rd paragraph in sync with this.

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