IELTS Topic Related Vocabulary: Tourism – Word Lists, Collocation, Idioms
1. To swarm with tourists
Meaning: when people swarm somewhere, they move there in a large group or in large numbers.
Example: During the summer, the little seaside town is swarming with holiday makers.
2. To be thronged with tourists
Meaning: refers to the situation of a place having a great number of visitors crowded or considered together
Example: At weekends, London, in particular, is swarming with tourists and certain areas of the city such as Oxford Street and Covent Garden are thronged with visitors.
3. Family outings
Meaning: family excursions for pleasure
Example: It’s time to give your child a bigger world to discover by lining up a few fun family outings that are tailor-made for the little ones in your life.
4. To break the bank
Meaning: to use up all one’s money/ to cost too much.
Example: Having a winter vacation in the sun without breaking the bank is a dream come true.
5. Motion/travelsickness
Meaning: to recover from motion (travel) sickness (which is caused by repeated unusual movements during travelling)
Example: During long car or bus journeys, she often suffers from motion sickness.
6. Backpackers
Meaning: people who travel on holiday carrying all their equipment and clothes in a backpack, like a large very strong bag which they carry on their back.
Example: London has cheap accommodation for backpackers who don’t have much money to spend on hotels.
7. To hurt tourism
Meaning: to have negative impacts on tourism
Example: A weaker dollar could hurt outbound tourism.
8. To experience phenomenal growth
Meaning: to experience an extremely successful or special development, especially in a surprising way
Example: In recent decades there has been a substantial diversification in international tourism destinations, and many developing countries have experienced phenomenal growth in tourist arrivals and receipts.
9. The height of the tourist season
Meaning: the time of year when the greatest number of people visit a place and when the prices are at their highest level
Example: Mid-summer in the UK is normally the height of the tourist season, so remember to book a hotel in advance.
10.To book
Meaning: to reserve something, such as a hotel room or a ticket
Example: I’d like to book a table for two at 8pm this evening, please.
11.To plague sth
Meaning: to cause worry, pain, or difficulty to someone or something over a period of time
Example: Tourist hotspots are also plagued by problems like theft, begging and drug abuse.
12.A boost to tourism
Meaning: the act of improving the development of tourism
Example: The new train service will enable visitors to reach the resort and provide a boost to tourism in the area.
13.Ecotourism
Meaning: organized holidays which are designed so that tourist damage the environment as little as possible.
Example: Ecotourism will become increasingly popular in the future, as more and more people become aware of the need to protect the environment.
14.To have a thirst for something
Meaning: to have a strong desire for something
Example: He has been all over the world, but he still has a thirst for seeing new places and enjoying new experiences.
15.To be rewarded by a vista
Meaning: to see a view, especially a beautiful view from a high position after a hard time
Example: After a hard climb, we were rewarded by a picture-postcard vista of rolling hills under a deep blue summer sky.
16.To have a whale of a time
Meaning: to have an exciting or fun time
Example: We had a whale of a time at Tom’s
17.A package holiday
Meaning: a holiday that is organized by a company at a fixed price, including the cost of a hotel, travel etc.
Example: Package holidays to Spain started to become popular in the UK in the 1960s.
18.To put to the test
Meaning: to see what someone or something can achieve, to find out how good someone or something is
Example: Adventure tours put my survival skills to the test.
19.To sunbathe
Meaning: to sit or lie in the sun, in order to get brown/to get a suntan
Example: I don’t like to sunbathe when I go to the beach, so I spend most of the time swimming in the sea.
20.To get away from it all
Meaning: to have a holiday in a very quiet place where you can relax.
Example: Tourists have always traveled to natural areas of beauty to avoid the noisy crowds and to get away from it all.
21.A wildlife safari
Meaning: a holiday [often in Africa] to see wild animals.
Example: The company organizes wildlife safaris in Africa to see lions and elephants in their natural habitats.
22.The holiday of a lifetime
Meaning: a special holiday that you are unlikely to repeat
Example: He is planning the holiday of a lifetime to see pandas in China.
23.A charter flight
Meaning: a cheaper form of flying than a normal airline.
Example: There are now charter flights to most tourist destinations, costing half the price charged by some companies.
24.Out of season
Meaning: not in the main holiday period
Example: If you plan to visit Vietnam out of season, make sure that you avoid the monsoons.
25.A holiday resort
Meaning: a place where lots of people go for a holiday
Example: If you like to lie on the beach, Thailand offers some very popular holiday resorts.
26.Self-catering
Meaning: a holiday where you supply your own food
Example: To save money, my parents prefer to take self-catering holidays in a holiday apartment and cook their own meals.
27.To go sightseeing
Meaning: to look around the places that tourists like to visit
Example: If you go sightseeing in Paris, be sure to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
28.A city break
Meaning: a short holiday in a famous tourist city.
Example: If you are planning a city break in Sydney, visit the Opera House and the famous Bondai Beach.
29.A guided tour
Meaning: an organized group shown around a place of interest by an expert
Example: The company runs guided tours of Hanoi in English and Japanese.
30.A breathtaking view
Meaning: an extremely beautiful view
Example: From the top of the mountain, there is a breathtaking view of the coast.