Overtourism ESL Discussion Questions
Use these overtourism ESL discussion questions for pair work, small-group speaking or whole-class conversation. Choose the level that fits your learners, or move through all three sections as the ideas become more challenging.
Beginner · A1–A2
Start the conversation
- 01
Have you visited a place with too many people? How did you feel?
- 02
Do many tourists come to your town or city? What do they come to see?
- 03
Why can tourists and residents feel differently about the same place?
- 04
Is it fair to ask tourists to pay a fee? Why or why not?
- 05
Who does a famous city belong to: the residents or the visitors?
Intermediate · B1–B2
Explore the issue
- 01
Have you ever visited a place that felt too crowded? What was it like?
- 02
Has tourism changed a place you know well? How?
- 03
Why might residents and tourists see the same city so differently?
- 04
Do you think entry fees or visitor limits are fair? Why or why not?
- 05
Who do you think a famous city really belongs to—its residents or its visitors?
Who does a city really belong to?
One topic. Three levels. Countless perspectives.Advanced · C1–C2
Challenge the idea
- 01
Would you rather see a famous place packed with crowds, or not see it at all? Why?
- 02
Has a place you know been changed by outsiders? Who gained, who lost, and who decided?
- 03
Why do tourism’s profits and its costs so often land on different people?
- 04
Is Venice’s entry fee a sensible first step, or merely a symbolic gesture?
- 05
Should residents have the final say over their city’s future, even if visitors pay for it?
Turn the discussion into a full lesson.
Continue with the complete Overtourism lesson at the level your class needs. Perspective lessons combine reading, vocabulary, discussion and deeper speaking tasks around one conversation-worthy topic.