Band 9 model answer
Cities such as Venice and Barcelona have become victims of their own beauty, drawing crowds so dense that ordinary daily life is increasingly disrupted. This essay will examine the serious problems generated by over-tourism in historic centres before proposing several realistic ways in which they might be addressed.
The difficulties are considerable and varied. Narrow medieval streets, never designed for millions of feet, suffer accelerated wear, while irreplaceable monuments deteriorate under constant handling, vibration and pollution. Beyond this physical strain, long-standing residents are steadily squeezed out as landlords convert family homes into lucrative short-term rentals, draining neighbourhoods of any permanent community. The eventual result is a hollowed-out city centre that resembles a sanitised theme park far more than a genuinely living place.
Fortunately, several remedies are well within reach. Authorities could introduce timed-entry ticketing for the most sensitive sites, smoothing out the crushing daily peaks that inflict the greatest damage. Imposing a modest tourist levy would simultaneously generate revenue for restoration and gently temper overall demand. Crucially, cities might also disperse their visitors by actively promoting lesser-known districts and quieter seasons, thereby relieving the historic core while spreading the economic benefit far more evenly across the region.
In conclusion, the unchecked influx of visitors into historic cities erodes both their physical fabric and their resident communities, yet thoughtful management clearly offers a way forward. Through carefully controlled access, fair and proportionate taxation and the deliberate dispersal of overwhelming crowds, these treasured and irreplaceable places can continue to welcome the wider world graciously without being slowly smothered and ultimately destroyed by it.
Examiner’s notes
- Task Response: the problem-solution format is delivered cleanly, with body two diagnosing physical and social problems and body three offering three matched, feasible solutions.
- Coherence and Cohesion: the metaphor of a 'living place' versus a 'theme park' creates thematic unity, and connectors like 'Fortunately' and 'Crucially' steer the argument smoothly.
- Lexical Resource: precise diction such as 'accelerated wear', 'lucrative short-term rentals' and 'hollowed-out city centre' avoids repetition and conveys ideas economically.