IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Foreign visitors should pay more than local visitors for cultural and historical attractions. To what
extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your own experience or
knowledge.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
It is sometimes seen that tourist attractions, including museums, important historical sites and
prominent monuments, impose a higher fee for the overseas travellers than the local people. I do not
agree with this idea and believe that the charges should be exactly the same.
From a perspective, it might seem logical to charge foreign tourists more to enter a traditional and
historical place as most of those monuments and establishments are state-owned and the
government fund those from the tax they collect from the local residences. From this regard, many
feel that local residences are already paying a portion of the ticket money through the tax they pay to
the government. However, this is a very narrow view and this arrangement dissatisfies the visiting
tourists as many of them find it discriminatory. From a broader view, if more foreign travellers are
encouraged to visit nationally important tourist attractions and important historical and cultural place,
this would bring more foreign tourists and this would ensure more earning from the tourism sector.
Furthermore, it would help spread the national and cultural importance around the world. From this
perspective, collecting some extra money from the entrance ticket is a shortsighted step.
Furthermore, happy tourists encourage their immediate friends and family members to visit a country
and some tourist attractions. If those tourists get the impression that they are being changed more
money than the local people, they would psychologically feel unhappy and would share their
dissatisfaction with others which would mean less foreign tourists. Many shrine and monuments are
maintained by the ticket money it collects and if the number of visiting travelers get decreased, it
would be tough for the authority to maintain those important places. From this perspective, having
an equal entrance fee has a better impact.
To conclude, from a broader perspective having the same ticket fee, both for the residence and
foreign tourists, to allow the entrance to any nationally and historically important place including
museums, art exhibitions, parks and historical places is more beneficial and I completely agree that
the fee should not be different.
Sample Answer 2:
Maybe everybody has experienced that they have to pay more in comparison to local people to enter
a museum or zoo. For some people, it can be acceptable while others may dislike it very much. Some
people advocate it while others may object it. In this essay, I will try to put myself in the position of
both groups and discuss the cons and pros of each option.
Firstly, when the foreign visitors pay more for a cultural and historical attraction, it will bring more
income and economic benefits for the owners of that attraction (that city, country etc.). Further, the
more money is gathered through the attraction, the more service the provider can give to the tourists.
They can use the money to improve the facilities offered to the tourists like translations in several
languages, brochures, headphones (for listening translation). Moreover, they can educate local
people about the attraction and hire them as tourist guides to assist visitors to offer a better
understanding of that attraction.
On the other side, those who disagree with this opinion may say that this discrimination (that tourists
must pay more than local people) may lead to a misunderstanding and they (the tourists) may think
that the system is abusing them. This feeling of abusing may result in dissatisfaction and reduction in
the number of tourists. Moreover, the less amount of tourist, the less income will be brought to the
attraction.
For instance, The British National Museum is free for everybody to enter while the Louvre Museum in
Paris costs a lot of money for visitors to enter, and both have a lot of visitors each year. I believe that
the staff of each attraction must calculate the benefits and drawbacks of each measure (price
difference in this case) and evaluate the consequences. To conclude, it is difficult to suggest "the
golden solution" which will work out for every attraction.
[ Written by - Shahab Mehraban]
Sample Answer 3:
Some people think that tourists should pay more money to visit cultural and historical places than
local residents. I do not agree with this motion. In my opinion, local people and tourists should pay
the same fee to visit museums and historical places.
Firstly, if the government increases ticket price for tourists, the number of tourists who visit the
country can decrease. As a result, this situation affects