This IELTS model essay is on the topic of travel. It’s a 2-part, or IELTS direct question essay from the General Training Test. It is taken from Cambridge IELTS 8.
Today more people are travelling than ever before.
Why is this the case?
What are the benefits of travelling for the traveller?
(Cambridge IELTS 8 General Training Test A)
Full Essay
Over the last couple of decades, a growing number of people have started to travel, something that is unprecedented in human history. This essay will look at the reasons for this, along with its benefits for travellers themselves.
One of the major reasons for this is the lower cost of air travel. The emergence of no-frills airlines such as WizzAir and AirAsia have made it much cheaper for people to take short-haul flights, enabling many people to travel who previously wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Even the cost of long-haul flights has come down due to increased competition amongst airlines.
Not only have flights become cheaper, but the market for these flights has become wider. A few decades ago, travellers were mostly from Europe and North America, but demand for travel has since increased in new markets such as East Asia and the Middle East and it’s not uncommon to find large numbers of Chinese tourists in European travel destinations.
This trend undoubtedly has many benefits for the travellers themselves. First of all, people get exposed to new experiences, such as different kinds of food and different attitudes to life. For example, people who travel to Thailand come across a much slower and gentler way of life than they would find at home.
Travel also helps people forget the stresses and strains of everyday life. Lying on a beach reading a book while listening to the sounds of ocean waves lapping up against the sand is a great way to relax and refresh oneself.
To conclude, cheaper and wider access to air travel has helped to fuel the increase in travel, something which brings benefits such as exposure to a different way of life and the chance to relax.
(291 words)
