Briefly describe what is meant by:

(i) heritage tourism;

(ii) ecotourism.

Explain three political factors that affect participation and success in international sport.

“The benefits of hosting an international sporting event always outweigh the costs.” Discuss this statement, using appropriate examples.

(i)  Heritage tourism is tourism based on a historic legacy [1] (landscape feature, historic building or event) as its major attraction [1].

[1] may alternatively be awarded for naming a valid example such as the Taj Mahal or Machu Picchu.

(ii)  Ecotourism is tourism focusing on the natural environment [1] and respecting local communities [1].

[1] may alternatively be awarded for naming a valid example such as Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica.

Award [1] for each factor identified, and [1] for further development or exemplification.

For example:

• Government spending on specific/internationally-orientated sport facilities such as swimming pools and stadiums [1] thereby increasing chance of success in Olympic Games [1].
• The government’s hosting of an international sporting event, such as the Olympics [1], has promoted national pride and encouraged people to participate more widely in sport [1].
• The government’s role promoting sport in education, eg in national curricula, to promote sport in schools and colleges [1] enables elite athletes to reach global potential [1].
• Political initiatives to promote sport/government advertising [1] with emphasis on “world-beating” potential [1].
• Government support in the hosting of an international sporting event.
• Political isolation of North Korea or other countries [1] so North Korea underrepresented in many global competitions [1].
• Specific political values may encourage or deter participation [1] eg Islamic states’ attitudes to female participation or Soviet-era gymnastics, etc [1].

Credit other valid political factors.

Likely benefits and costs might include issues arising from:

• building infrastructure – stadiums, accommodation, and transport facilities
• international reputation
• impacts on the economy of the host country
• regeneration of urban areas
• sporting legacy
• encouragement of participation in sporting activities.

Good answers are likely to provide a structured discussion of different kinds of costs/benefits. Another approach would be to discuss how perspectives may differ on what constitutes a benefit (or cost). Another approach would be to choose examples which allow a discussion of whether the veracity of the statement is place-specific (may provide contrasts for countries at different levels of development, for instance).

For band D, expect some description of some costs and benefits for one or two international sporting events.

At band E, expect either more detailed explanation of costs and benefits for one or more events (do not expect balance) or a structured discussion (may discuss the cost-benefit balance for different groups of people in different kinds of place).

At band F expect both of these elements. 

Marks should be allocated according to the markbands.

The definitions were often incomplete, especially “ecotourism”, which should refer to local communities. Heritage tourism was often poorly defined: it refers to history and not to culture. Exemplification or development was needed for the second mark in each case.

Each political factor needed to be developed/exemplified in order to gain full marks. Many answers included economic factors rather than political ones, or the answer did not focus on “participation and success in international sport”.

Stronger candidates gave good detailed answers using London Olympics, Sochi Winter Olympics, Rio World Cup and others. Some examples were not so current, such as Atlanta and Munich Olympics. Weaker candidates presented answers that tended to be descriptive and did not focus enough on the costs and the benefits in discussing the statement.