‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome

respite from tourists

Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate
1 Warmer
a. These cities are all in the top ten most visited cities in the world. Put them in order from
1 (most visited) to 6 (least visited).
Paris
Istanbul
Hong Kong
London
Bangkok
New York City

2 Key words
a. Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. Two words are in the title
of the article.

archipelago bustling pandemic populous respite

1. A / An is a short period of rest from a difficult or

unpleasant situation.

2. A / An is a disease that affects almost everyone in a large area.

3. If a place is , a lot of people live there

4. A / An is a large group of small islands.

5. If a place is , it is full of noise and activity, and is usually

pleasant and interesting.

blessed call on double-edged record thriving

6. If you are , you feel very happy and thankful.

7. A / An number is bigger than ever before.

8. If you someone to do something, you ask them officially to

do it.

9. If an industry is , it is very successful.

10. A / An sword is a situation that is both positive and negative.

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 ‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome
respite from tourists
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate
Emmanuel Samoglou 8 Calls for government to control tourism go
19 August, 2021 back to the early 90s, when the Cook Islands
welcomed just 35,000 tourists a year. In 2017,
1 For nearly a year and a half after the pandemic the MP Selina Napa called on the government
began, the Cook Islands didn’t have any tourists. to limit arrival numbers. Despite strong
In early 2020, the south Pacific country closed opposition from government and industry at
its borders to keep Covid-19 out and closed the time, she hasn’t changed her mind. “We are
down the country’s most important industry. a small island nation and the only real resource
we have are our beautiful islands, which the
2 Hotels shut down and the government had to tourists are here to enjoy.”
borrow tens of millions of dollars to keep the
9 Thinking about the increase in tourism since
economy going. Large numbers of people left
her childhood days on Rarotonga, Alex King
to find work in New Zealand. says the country is lucky to have a thriving
3 That all changed in May, 2021 when a “travel industry, but it could cause real damage to the
bubble” with New Zealand began. Within environment. “This industry is a double-edged
weeks, thousands of New Zealanders had sword,” she says.
booked tickets to escape the winter and enjoy © Guardian News and Media 2021
a tropical holiday on a green island that has First published in The Guardian, 19/08/2021
never recorded a case of Covid-19.
4 Once again, Rarotonga – the most populous
island in the Cook archipelago – was bustling.
Markets were busy, and restaurants, rental cars
and guided tours were fully booked. But not
everybody is happy.
5 “During Covid, I thought we were blessed,”
says Alex King, a photographer. “People started
to grow food again, spending more time with
their families, and we tried to help one another
during a financially hard time for many people.”
6 It was a big change for the Cook Islands, which
had a record number of visitors in 2019. The
country’s population is 17,500 but, that year,
it welcomed nearly 172,000 visitors – a 37%
increase from five years earlier. In just ten
years, income doubled to just over NZ$30,000
per person.
7 “As someone who has worked in the tourism
industry for years, it is easy to understand why
it was such an important part of our lives,” says
King. “But over the past few years, I’ve seen
exactly what effect this industry is having on our
environment, our culture and our community.”
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 ‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome
respite from tourists
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

3 Comprehension check
a. Are these statements true or false according to the article?

1. The borders of the Cook Islands were closed for two and a half years.

2. They closed the borders because there were so many cases of Covid-19 in the Cook Islands.

3. Lots of people came from New Zealand to find work.

4. Rarotonga is one of the islands in the archipelago.

5. 17,500 people visited the Cook Islands in 2019.

6. In 2009, income was NZ$15,000 per person.

7. Alex King has worked in the tourism industry for many years.

8. People have asked the government to control tourism since the early 90s.

9. Selina Napa no longer wants the government to limit the number of tourists.

10. Alex King is worried that too much tourism could damage the environment.

4 Key language
a. Match the words in the left-hand column with the words in the right-hand column to make
phrases from the text.

1. guided a. down

2. tourism b. time

3. strong c. industry

4. close d. out

5. hard e. tour

6. keep f. opposition

5 Discussion
a. Answer this question.
• Do you think tourism is a good idea? Why? Why not?
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 ‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome
respite from tourists
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

6 In your own words

a. Open an internet search engine. Correct these statements about the Cook Islands using the
information you find there.

1. The Cook Islands are in the Atlantic Ocean.

2. The people of the Cook Islands are also citizens of Australia.

3. The population of the Cook Islands is about 175,000.

4. The first Europeans came to the Cook Islands in the 19th century.

5. People drive on the right in the Cook Islands.

6. French is the official language of the Cook Islands.

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 ‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome
respite from tourists
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate – Teacher’s notes
Key:
Article summary: The article describes the 1. respite 6. blessed
impact of mass tourism on the Cook Islands, 2. pandemic 7. record
an archipelago of tropical islands in the 3. populous 8. call on
south Pacific. 4. archipelago 9. thriving
5. bustling 10. double-edged
Time: 60 minutes
3. Comprehension check
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
a. Ask students to work individually to answer the
Language focus: Vocabulary
questions and then compare their answers in pairs
or small groups.
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student Key:
1. False 6. True
2. False 7. True
1. Warmer 3. False 8. True
4. True 9. False
a. The purpose of this activity is to introduce the topic 5. False 10. True
of tourism and, in particular, mass tourism. Hong
Kong had nearly 30 million visitors in 2018, many 4. Key language
of these from mainland China. Bangkok had over
24 million, and Istanbul, which is the tenth most a. Students can check their answers by finding these
visited city in the world, had 13.5 million visitors. phrases in the text. Note that the answers to #4 and
Other cities in the top ten that are not included in the #6 are phrasal verbs.
task are Macau (4th), Singapore (5th), Dubai (7th) and
Kuala Lumpur (9th). Key:
1. e 4. a
Key: 2. c 5. b
1. Hong Kong 4. Paris 3. f 6. d
2. Bangkok 5. New York
3. London 6. Istanbul 5. Discussion

2. Key words a. Allow students time to note down their ideas about
the statement.
a. Ask students to do the exercise individually and
then compare their answers in pairs or small groups. 6. In your own words
Point out that the first two answers can be found
in the headline to the article. Highlight the use of a. Ask students to enter Cook Islands into an internet
double-edged sword in the article. In this case, it search engine. They should be able to find all this
refers to tourism, which is good for the economy but information without too much trouble.
bad for the environment.
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 ‘We were very blessed’: in the Cook Islands, pandemic proved a welcome
respite from tourists
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate – Teacher’s notes
Suggested answers
1. The Cook Islands are in the a ifi Ocean.
2. The people of the Cook Islands are also citizens of
New Zealand.
3. The population of the Cook Islands is about 17,500.
4. The first Europeans came to the Cook Islands in the
17th century.
5. People drive on the left in the Cook Islands.
6. English is the official language of the Cook Islands.

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