Key Idea: Topic 11.2 is about where leisure, tourism and sport facilities go, what they do to a place, and how to read all of this off a map. It pulls together three ideas: 11.2.1 — locating facilities: the physical factors (relief, climate, scenery, snow) and human factors (accessibility, land cost, investment, population) that decide a facility's site (the ground itself) and situation (its position relative to roads and markets). 11.2.2 — impacts & strategies: tourism is double-edged — economic, social and environmental costs and benefits — and countries use national strategies (ecotourism, heritage, mega-events) to drive development. A facility's sphere of influence depends on threshold and range. 11.2.3 — reading the map: the four core cartographic skills — grid references, scale, direction, height — plus site suitability (a reason PLUS map evidence). This is an option unit, examined on Paper 1, Option E (SL answers 2 options, HL answers 3 — the same questions). Each option = short structured parts off a figure/map + a [10] Examine/Evaluate/Discuss extended answer marked on markbands.
📍 11.2.1 — Locating tourism and sport facilities
Facilities are not placed at random: their location is decided by physical factors (the natural setting) and human factors (people's decisions). Physical sets the scene — mountains for skiing, a warm coast for beaches; human factors then decide whether it grows — accessibility, investment, marketing and cheap land. Split every location into site (the actual ground it occupies) and situation (its position relative to roads, cities and the people it serves). In an Outline [2], you must name a factor AND develop why it matters — never just list.
Site / situation factors for tourism and sport facilities
| Facility | Key location factors | Advantage of a good site | Risk / disadvantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports stadium | Flat cheap land, accessibility, parking, away from homes | Easy access for big crowds; room to expand | Noise + traffic anger nearby residents |
| Music festival | Large open site, water + waste, road access, not near housing | Space for huge crowds; fewer noise complaints | Mud/flooding on poor relief; access jams |
| Beach / city resort | Warm climate, coast or culture, hotels, airport links | Strong natural pull + repeat visitors | Overcrowding erodes what tourists came for |
| Ski resort | Snow-reliable high slopes, relief, lift access, scenery | A long season + dramatic scenery | Warmer winters and avalanche risk cut visitors |
| Countryside / national park | Scenery, lakes, trails, near big cities | Honeypot pull for day-trippers and walkers | Footpath erosion + congestion at peak times |
Key terms for locating facilities
- Site — the physical ground a facility occupies (flat land, snow slopes, a coast, a river).
- Situation — its position relative to roads, cities, airports and the people it serves.
- Accessibility — how easily visitors can reach it (roads, rail, airports, car parking).
- Honeypot / hotspot — a place that attracts very large numbers of tourists into a small area.
- Multiplier effect — visitor spending that creates jobs and draws further investment to a place.
Tip: An Outline [2] never scores full marks from a one-word factor. Add the so what: flat land (1) → cheap to build on and easy to lay out a pitch and stands (1). The development mark is the link from the factor to that facility. And match the factor to the command — a physical question (snow, relief) is not answered with a human one (price, advertising).
🌍 11.2.2 — Tourism impacts and national strategies
Tourism brings money and jobs but also pressure. Sort every impact into economic / social / environmental AND into positive / negative — top marks come from showing tourism is double-edged. A facility's sphere of influence is the area it draws visitors from, set by its threshold (the minimum users it needs to survive) and range (the maximum distance people will travel). High-order facilities (national stadiums, World Heritage cities) have a large sphere; low-order ones (a local pool, a park) a small one.
Impacts of tourism — positive vs negative, across the strands
| Strand | Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Jobs + income; the multiplier spreads spending | Leakage to TNCs; seasonal low-paid work; rising rents |
| Social | New services, infrastructure and local pride | Overcrowding, congestion, loss of culture, anti-tourist feeling |
| Environmental | Funds conservation and protected areas | Litter, water use, traffic pollution, habitat damage |
| Housing | Investment and regeneration of run-down areas | Airbnb removes homes; second homes price out residents |
Key terms for impacts and strategies
- The multiplier effect — visitor spending pays local wages that are re-spent locally, creating further jobs and income.
- Economic leakage — the share of spending that flows out of the destination (to foreign-owned hotels, airlines, TNCs).
- National tourism strategy — a country's planned use of tourism (ecotourism, heritage, mega-events) to drive development.
- Ecotourism — small-scale, low-impact nature tourism that funds conservation and benefits locals.
- Sphere of influence / threshold / range — the area a facility draws from, set by its minimum users and the distance people travel.
Example: Venice — a World Heritage lagoon city; its physical site made it a honeypot, but ~20-30 million visitors vs ~50,000 residents now overwhelm its carrying capacity (over-tourism, a day-tripper entry fee). Dubai — almost no physical pull; investment, airports and marketing built a tourism hotspot as a national strategy to diversify away from oil. Costa Rica — low-leakage ecotourism funds national parks and rural jobs (a sustainable strategy). London 2012 (Stratford) — a cheap, well-connected brownfield site regenerated by a mega-event; accessibility and land availability were the deciding human factors.
🗺️ 11.2.3 — Reading tourism and recreation maps
Option E opens with a data-response read of a real map — a topographic, tourist-town or resort/piste map. Four core skills do most of the work, plus one judgement skill (site suitability). Every mark is read straight off the map, so accuracy and units matter.
The five map skills — what each question wants
| Skill | What you do | The rule to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Grid reference | Identify the feature at a coordinate | Eastings first, then northings (corridor, then stairs) |
| Scale / distance | Calculate or estimate a real distance | 1:50 000 → 2 cm = 1 km (1 cm = 500 m); give units |
| Direction | State a compass bearing between two places | Bearing of the SECOND place FROM the first |
| Height / contours | Read spot heights, find a height difference | Subtract lower from higher; close contours = steep |
| Site suitability | Judge whether a place suits a leisure use | A reason PLUS specific map evidence — never a bare assertion |
Read the key first. Each bar is a factor scored from what the map shows — taller = more suitable. Judging a site from evidence like this is the higher-skill 11.2.3 question.
🔒 Interactive diagram
Explore the labelled diagram, charts and maps for this topic in study mode.
Key cartographic terms
- Grid reference — a coordinate that locates a feature (four-figure = a square, six-figure = a point in it).
- Scale — the ratio of map distance to real distance (1:50 000 → 1 cm = 500 m); read it off the scale bar.
- Contour — a line joining points of equal height; close = steep, wide = gentle.
- Spot height — a single labelled point giving an exact altitude in metres.
- Site suitability — how well a place fits a leisure use, judged from map evidence (access, flat land, scenery, accommodation).
A suitability mark is never "it is accessible" — it is "it is accessible: an A-road and a bus station lie just south of the site." Quote the actual road, campsite symbol, contour or grid reference. A bare reason with no map evidence caps the mark.
✍️ IB-style questions
A ski resort in the Alps saw its winter visitor numbers fall. Suggest one physical and one human factor that could explain this fall, developing how each reduces visitors.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
Examine the view that human factors matter more than physical factors in causing a tourism hotspot to grow.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
✅ Quick self-check
Tap each card to reveal the answer.
What is the difference between site and situation? Site = the actual ground a facility occupies (flat land, snow slopes, a coast). Situation = its position relative to roads, cities and the people it serves.
What is the multiplier effect, and why does it matter for tourism? Visitor spending pays local wages, which are re-spent locally, creating further jobs and income. It turns one spend into wider economic benefit — the strongest positive-impact answer.
Why do spheres of influence differ between leisure facilities? High-order facilities (stadiums, World Heritage cities) have a high threshold and long range, so a large sphere; low-order ones (a pool, a park) have a small one. Status and accessibility widen the catchment.
On a 1:50 000 map, how do you find a real distance? Measure the map distance, then use the scale bar: 2 cm = 1 km, so 1 cm = 500 m. A 5 cm route = 2.5 km — always give units.
What does a site-suitability mark always need? A reason PLUS specific map evidence — name the A-road, bus station, campsite or contour. A bare reason with no evidence caps the mark at 1.
🎯 Highest-yield exam reminders
Exam Tips
- Site = the ground; situation = position relative to roads + markets. Outline [2] = name a factor + develop why it shapes THAT facility.
- Match the factor to the command — a physical question (snow, relief) is not answered with a human one (price, advertising).
- Sort tourism impacts into economic / social / environmental AND positive / negative; the multiplier is the best positive-economic line, leakage the key negative.
- Sphere of influence depends on threshold and range — high-order facilities (stadiums, World Heritage cities) draw from far away.
- Map skills: grid references = eastings then northings; 1:50 000 → 2 cm = 1 km; height difference = higher minus lower spot height; direction = bearing of the SECOND place from the first.
- Paper 1 Option E [10] essay: develop BOTH sides across the strands, anchor each to a NAMED place (Dubai, Venice, Lake District, London 2012), and end on a justified judgement.