In the past years, there has been a trend towards shorter holiday breaks during the year. People like to take a few days off to travel. The internet has changed the way people organize their holidays. Booking plane tickets online is easy and prices are often lower than with travel agents.

International tourism has suffered many drawbacks, like the 9/11 attacks, which made security at airports stricter and travelling more difficult. The tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in 2004 killed over 250,000 people including thousands of tourists.

A few years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a major setback in global tourism. People often spent their holidays in their home country because of travel restrictions abroad.



Airport security

Image: Transportation Security Administration Checkpoint at John Glenn Columbus International Airport by
Michael Ball via  Wikimedia Commons, CC0



Words

  • abroad = in other countries, especially on other continents
  • break = pause
  • drawbacks = here: bad times
  • pandemic = a disease that affects millions of people around the world
  • restrictions = rules or laws that limit or control what people can do
  • security = safety
  • setback = it has made things worse
  • suffer = here: face, manage
  • travel agent = company that organizes flights, hotels, rental cars etc.. for you