UNIT 3
1. Read the text about agricultural tourism in Belarus and translate the phrases in italics in writing.
Сельский туризм в Беларуси: отдых в усадьбах!
Кто в детстве не любил проводить лето у бабушки в деревне? А как иногда хочется обратно вернуться в это счастливое время , проснуться под запах блинов со шкварками, пробежаться босиком по луговой траве с росой и сделать глоток свежего, еще теплого парного молока ! Таких людей огромное множество, поэтому в Беларуси начал активно развиваться сельский туризм – отдых в белорусских усадьбах.
Каждый сможет отдохнуть по своему вкусу! Если вы приехали шумной компанией с друзьями – обязательно надо попариться в баньке «по-черному», отведать хозяйских напитков с домашней деревенской свежениной , а затем уснуть на сеновале или на теплой печи . Если вы решили выбраться на отдых с семьей – представьте, сколько удовольствия доставит городским детям покормить домашних хрюшек или проехаться на лошади! А затем вдоволь покататься на велосипедах или лыжах по живописным местам, собрать полные ведра грибов и ягод, да и просто подышать настоящим свежим воздухом.
Практически каждая усадьба нашла свою специализацию и сумела привлечь «своего» туриста: охота, рыбалка или сбор лечебных трав. Есть усадьбы, хозяева которых предлагают своим туристам не только деревенскую тишину и прелести мерной жизни в гармонии с природой, но и захватывающие приключения, возможность заняться активными видами туризма. Например, усадьба «Над Неманом» предлагает отправиться в увлекательное плавание на сооруженном хозяевами плоту и увидеть почти нетронутые военные дзоты времен Великой Отечественной войны . Вечером можно организовать вечеринку с участием местных музыкантов, а главное – хозяина одной усадьбы – единственного профессионала игры на гуслях-звончатых в Беларуси!
Желаете познакомиться с великолепной белорусской кухней, отведать блюда из уникальных рецептов и взять уроки кулинарии ? Усадьбы «Свитязянка» , «Хорень», «Верес» , «Райский уголок» ждут Вас!
Большинство из белорусских сельских усадеб расположены в очень живописных местах на берегу красивых водоемов (усадьбы «Речная», «Приозерная», «Нарочанка», «Пескари», «Хорень»). А некоторые даже предлагают походы на байдарках ! ( «Млынок», «Речная», «Кролова Хата».)
А кому нравится собирать грибы, ягоды или лечебные травы, то добро пожаловать на усадьбы «Саннички», «Гармония», «Ив-Ле», «Собиново», «Стоки» . А хозяева усадьбы «Сэрвач» летом организуют специальный «Черничный тур»!
Прокатиться в бричке или совершить конную поездку по живописнейшим местам можно в усадьбах «Конный фольварок», «Матулянский куток», «Липники».
Усадьбы «Пружанская», «Заречаны», «Старый млын», «У опушки» – это настоящий рай для ваших детишек.
Также есть усадьбы, готовые принимать большое (до 25 человек) количество гостей («Верес», «Постоялый двор», «Вилия», «Заречаны», «Лебединое»). Таких крупных усадеб в Беларуси мало, и их активно снимают для проведения корпоративных мероприятий, конференций, семинаров, праздников.
Кроме всего этого – охота, рыбалка, лыжные походы, обучение и оздоровление.
Есть усадьбы-коттеджи, которые готовы удовлетворить самых взыскательных туристов (усадьбы «Верес» , «Лебединое» , «Над Неманом» ). Есть усадьбы на базе деревенских домов, которые постепенно улучшаются и приспосабливаются к новой деятельности (усадьбы «Докудово» , «Комарово» , «Свитязянка» ). Есть дачи, летние дома отдыха в деревнях (усадьбы «Соловушка» , «Ив-ле» , «Хмеля» ). Однажды ощутив радость общения с природой и душевность белорусских хозяев, хочется возвращаться сюда снова и снова.
Крупнейший туристический портал Holiday.by предлагает Вам выбрать и забронировать усадьбу по своему вкусу!
Сельский туризм – благородное дело и незабываемый отдых. Присоединяйтесь к нам!
http://tours.ru/articles/stories.asp?id_stories=5157&id_country=BY
21.10.2005
2. Render the text into English.
3. Get ready to act out the roles of the participants of the international press-conference in class.
Participants: an expert on agricultural tourism from the USA,
officials from the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus, representatives of different travel agencies, businessmen interested in starting up their own agricultural business,
a reporter from the newspaper “Tourism and Otdykh”,
two interpreters, one from Russian into English and the other from English into Russian.
You can start with a short introductory speech touching upon a general situation in the world’s agricultural tourism.
Use the following text and the information from the sites:
http://www.tourism.umn.edu/education/ctd/qa/d.html
Developing New Attractions
Does low-impact, ecological tourism that de-emphasizes large infrastructure development provide a good return on investment for small towns? How do we capitalize on the ecotourism trend? – Denver, Colorado.
Ecotourism (green tourism, nature-based tourism) enables tourists to easily learn about the natural environments they are visiting. In many cases it has proven very beneficial for local economies according to new research by the University of Arizona. Studying information on visitors from two natural areas in Cochise County, Arizona, the researchers refuted claims that environmental protection must inevitably trade off jobs and economic growth. Among the results from studying two nationally recognized bird-watching spots, the researchers estimated visitor spending totaled $12 million, helping diversify the county economy and reducing seasonality problems. The study suggests that nature-based tourism attracts older, retired, college-educated, and high-income individuals, people with leisure time and money to spend.
Not all ecotourism ventures are economically successful, however. In a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, a two-volume report of the World Wildlife Fund concluded that the potential environmental and economic benefits from nature-based tourism have yet to be realized. Here, it was found that most parks lacked trained guides, interpretive information, and basic facilities such as visitors' centers. These facilities missed opportunities to provide environmental education to visitors and to bring in the visitors who could have contributed to local economic growth. Studies on ecology and tourism have suggested that uncontrolled visitors have also had a detrimental effect on the fragile ecosystems being advertised.
Whether a greater rate of return will result from ecotourism over high-development tourism is dependent on many factors. Ask these questions:
Do you have something someone would like to see?
What is your destination attraction?
What is the market?
How will you connect the two?
What infrastructure (visitor guides, environmental interpretation, visitor facilities) will be required?
Careful planning is required to evaluate all of the benefits and costs associated with the project. Only then will you know whether your return on the investment is good. You may find that your cost structure has simply shifted away from intensive capital costs to other support costs. Each situation will be different. The nature of your natural endowment, as well as how you choose to market and present it, may guide your bottom line.
The rate of return on any investment depends on many factors including, for example, demand for the product, competition, cost of capital, and how well it is marketed. Factors other than monetary returns enter into how communities evaluate returns from development. For example, attracting a nuclear waste disposal site may offer communities an excellent return on investment, but few communities are willing to accept such facilities in their states let alone in their back yards. Communities should also consider how a new development will mesh with existing industry, seeking compatibilities and complementary relationships across its overall economy.
By definition, low-impact ecological tourism is less disruptive, less obtrusive, and more ecologically friendly than most development options, and thus may be well-suited for small towns that rate these benefits very highly.
By definition, low-impact ecological tourism is less disruptive, less obtrusive, and more ecologically friendly than most development options, and thus may be well-suited for small towns that rate these benefits very highly. However, for towns seeking significant economic growth and a large number of new jobs, ecological tourism may not be especially attractive. Such communities need to attract a major influx of tourists and their dollars to meet their growth objective. This is generally not possible without large infrastructure development to accommodate growth in visitor numbers. Availability of capital and markets significantly limit the number of small towns that have any real prospects for developing a mass market tourism industry, making large scale tourism an unrealistic option. Limited capital requirements make ecological tourism development a viable option for more communities. Low initial investment, however, does not naturally produce high rates of returns.
How then might a small town capitalize on the ecotourism trend? By developing products ecotourists find attractive. Put them in good locations, price them properly, and effectively promote them to targeted markets. Small towns considering entering the ecotourism market should conduct the research needed to assess the feasibility of this option and develop a strategic plan to guide development. Not all small towns will succeed in their quest to become ecotourism destinations, but those that objectively assess this market and create a sound plan to exploit it, will more likely succeed than those that don't. Finally, tourists' tastes change, often very quickly. Market monitoring and reassessment and continued updating of plans are important to the long-term viability of a community's tourism industry.
What are some guidelines for developing industrial tours? How do we get industry cooperation?
Industrial tours can range from dairies and pretzel-making factories, to jewelry-making and carpet-weaving. They are most successful when the visitors can be interested, educated, and entertained by a well-managed tour and when they feel they have had a worthwhile experience. A plant or industrial tour may be established indoors or out and in virtually any kind of accessible, nonhazardous setting. In most cases, the cultural complexities of the process provide an opportunity to build interest and even intrigue in the work or in the workers' skills and, finally, delight in a well-produced, quality product.
Many top companies seek out opportunities to showcase their performance through tours.
Such tours should follow a well-planned route allowing for close, but safe, encounters with the industrial process. Each aspect of the tour process, from its start to finish, should be carefully choreographed. Selection of an informed and engaging tour guide and visitor management throughout the tour are vital. Include explanations of all production steps, exposure to friendly workers who display pride in their work, and a conclusion coinciding with completion of a good product. Conclude with a question and answer session by a company executive or offer the visitors an opportunity to sample or take home the product. This can help make the tour experience satisfying.
Company management should realize that a successful tour can create customers. Dole Pineapple, with a relatively inexpensive tour, created a powerful public relations tool. They were able to take full advantage of local tourism promotion services in a high-volume setting to present their product very favorably. While some companies charge a tour fee, even free tours can be managed economically. Such tours carry measurable public relations and marketing benefits, which, in the long run, contribute to sales, employee pride, and stability. It is notable that many top companies seek out opportunities to showcase their performance through such tours.
http://holiday.by/village_country.asp
4. Translate the following texts from English into Russian.
Pick - Your - Own ( U - Pick )
In the 1970s U-pick farms were at their height of popularity. Families with three or four hungry teenagers and full-time homemakers were still common. Canning a couple of bushels of green beans or putting a flat of strawberries in the freezer helped out the family budget significantly. Raw materials were harder to come by than labor, compared with today. Canning has been all but eliminated today as a home activity because it represents a lost opportunity for the housewife to be gainfully employed, instead of receiving nothing for her hard work (i.e., the opportunity cost of labor) putting up the winter food supply. Small batches of gourmet recipes may be stored in the family freezer, but more than 50 % of U.S. meals are now commercially prepared and eaten away from home. While U-pick operations can still be found, successful ones are most likely to be part of the whole entertainment-farm enterprise mix.
U-pick offers several advantages to farmers. They are relieved of the burden of finding and paying temporary seasonal labor at harvest time. This type of labor is becoming harder and harder to find. The hours are long and hot; the work, back-breaking. If people can be persuaded to pick as entertainment and get a few cents off per unit, the farmer is way ahead. However, sustainable farmer Kelly Klober has observed, "The whole premise of 'here we are/come out and get dirty picking our crops/then pay us handsomely for the privilege' is a hard sell" in today's world and may depend on how attractively the experience can be packaged and how aggressively it is marketed. Above all, the average farmer's natural distaste for selling must be overcome and he must learn to think like a customer.
This means, at a minimum, creating adequate parking, having restrooms, having a safe entertainment area for small children, and working with an insurer on liability issues. Small children are best kept away from the picking area, as they contribute disproportionately to damaged crops and "inventory shrinkage." Attention to these basics will help build repeat sales, a primary goal of all direct marketing.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/entertainment.html
Crop Art
Invite a crop artist to turn one of your cornfields into a work of art. It will be the talk of the country-side and may attract national media attention (especially if an actor dressed in a pale blue wetsuit with antennae on his head runs around and periodically pops up at unexpected times near the artwork). The crop art displayed by the fourteen Dutchess County, New York, farmers attracted thousands of visitors, including 1,000 school children, a month. Additional people came to their summer on-farm educational programs intended to strengthen urban ties to agriculture. Many farms that encourage school tours aim to build goodwill and long-term customers, rather than charging for the tours.
Crop art runs the gamut from the fanciful sculptures of Dutchess County to floral designs, from designs mowed in a field to Halloween pumpkin displays like those seen on the Rohrbach Farm near St. Louis. Most crop art – at least in the Midwest – consists of designs cut into standing grain crops in a field, or alternatively, designs created by different colored plantings. Such crop art is best viewed from the air or from a raised structure. There have also been proposals for creating mound-like structures with Native American designs outlined in edible native plants, and there are agricultural mazes – which provide something to do as well as see. There are a number of full-time professional crop artists advertising on the Worldwide Web, as well as maze designers and franchisers. (Mazes are discussed more fully below.)
Madera County, California, farmer Darren Schmall originated the "Pizza Farm" concept, a subspecies of crop art. One field is devoted to a circular arrangement of crops and animals. Pie-shaped wedges of pepper plants, wheat, tomatoes, and so on represent pizza ingredients. Several sections house hogs and cattle (representing sausage and cheese). This is reportedly one of the fastest-growing types of crop art. Children use a coin-operated feed pellet machine to feed the animals.
Visitors expect to pay admission to farm attractions – even to view (and photograph) crop art. Maze operators generally charge admission. Joel Salatin advises farmers to build a haybale observation deck with a view of the maze, so that grandparents can take photos. Sales of food, beverages, and photographic supplies can take place here. Charge for some things, and give something away free. "While no one is certain that providing some activities free of charge improves the net return to the farm, they undoubtedly increase the farmer's gross receipts through increased customer traffic."
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/entertainment.html