Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Transport, travel and tourism – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

This set follows the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), using a topic from the section 3 list to practise the skills in sections 2 and 4. Questions 1-9 are source-based, in the style the syllabus describes for Component 1 Written Exam. Questions 10 and 11 are planning tasks for Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project.

Topic knowledge is not assessed in 0457. These questions show how to use the topic to practise the skills. Answer from the sources only. Saltmere, Ostravia and all people, organisations and figures are fictional.

Learn the skills in the Transport, travel and tourism study guide and the Transport, travel and tourism revision notes. The 0457 course hub and the 0457 checklist show the whole course. For more general skills practice, try the Written Exam practice.

Questions

Source A – original text written for Marlbridge. Blog post by Tomas Rell, who runs a café on Harbour Street in the seaside town of Saltmere, Ostravia (fictional).

I have run my café on Harbour Street for 19 years. Summers are busier than ever, but in winter the street is dead, because 610 homes in Saltmere are now holiday lets. My daughter, a nurse at the town clinic, rents a flat 40 minutes’ drive away because she cannot afford anything here. On cruise days, 500 passengers come ashore at once and most of them buy nothing but a bottle of water. Holiday rentals are driving families out of our town. Saltmere is losing its soul.

Source B – original data written for Marlbridge (fictional). Saltmere: visitors, residents and holiday rentals.

Year	Day visitors	Overnight visitors	Permanent residents	Homes licensed as holiday rentals	Day visitors arriving by car (%)
2015	310,000	140,000	9,200	120	71
2020	450,000	165,000	8,700	340	64
2025	640,000	180,000	8,100	610	58

Source C – original text written for Marlbridge. Press release from Saltmere Cruise Partners, a company that runs the cruise landing pier (fictional).

Last season 73 cruise calls brought 36,500 passengers ashore in Saltmere. We interviewed 80 passengers on board as they returned from town on one sailing in July. On average they said they spent 52 crowns. That means cruise visitors bring about 1.9 million crowns into Saltmere every season. Every business in town benefits. Limiting cruise calls would be a disaster for Saltmere.

Source D – original text written for Marlbridge. Two views on closing Harbour Street to cars (fictional).

Councillor Ines Hart: “Our old town is choking. During last August’s four-week trial closure of Harbour Street, nitrogen dioxide at the street’s air monitor fell by 30%, from 40 to 28 micrograms per cubic metre. Families could finally walk safely. Every visitor I spoke to loved it. By 2030, car-free centres will be normal in every coastal town in Ostravia.”

Ralf Dunn, Saltmere Traders’ Association: “Closing Harbour Street would be a death sentence for small shops. Our members told us their takings fell by 15% during the trial. Tourists come by car, and if they cannot park they will simply go elsewhere. The council should build a 600-space car park beside the harbour instead.”

Source E – original text written for Marlbridge. Options from Saltmere Town Council (fictional).

Action 1 – Peak-day visitor fee. Day visitors pay 4 crowns on the 60 busiest days. Residents and overnight guests are exempt. The council estimates 256,000 day visits on those days, raising about 1.0 million crowns a year. Action 2 – Holiday-rental cap. No new licences. Licences are reduced from 610 to 400 within three years by not renewing those held by owners with more than one rental. Owners warn of fewer beds for overnight visitors. Action 3 – Park-and-ride. A 500-space car park at the edge of town, with electric shuttle buses to the harbour. Harbour Street closed to private cars from June to September. Build cost 3.2 million crowns; running cost 280,000 crowns a year.

1. Using Source A, identify one fact and one opinion. [2]

2. Using Source B:

(a) Calculate the percentage change in day visitors from 2015 to 2025. Show your working. [2] (b) Describe the trend in permanent residents from 2015 to 2025. [2]

3. Tomas Rell (Source A) claims that holiday rentals “are driving families out of our town”. Explain why Source B does not prove this claim. [4]

4. Using Source D:

(a) Identify one prediction. [1] (b) Identify one example of emotive language and explain how it affects the argument. [2]

5. Using Sources A and C, explain two different perspectives on cruise tourism in Saltmere and why they differ. [6]

6. Using the sources:

(a) Explain two causes of the pressure on Saltmere’s old town. [4] (b) Explain one consequence for an individual and one consequence for the town as a whole. [4]

7. Using Source C:

(a) Evaluate the evidence for the claim that cruise visitors bring about 1.9 million crowns into Saltmere every season. [8] (b) Suggest how you could research how much cruise visitors really benefit Saltmere’s businesses. [6]

8. Evaluate the arguments of Councillor Hart and Ralf Dunn in Source D. Which argument is stronger? [12]

9. Which action in Source E would be most effective in reducing the pressure of tourism on Saltmere? Explain your judgement with reasons and evidence from all the sources. [16]

10. You are planning an Individual Report on Transport, travel and tourism.

(a) Write a global research question that divides opinion. [2] (b) Identify one local or national perspective and one global perspective you would research, and a suitable source for each. [4]

11. Your Team Project team has found that heavy traffic at your school gate each morning makes it unsafe for pupils who walk.

(a) Suggest one action and how you would measure its success. [3] (b) Halfway through, the school stops you counting cars at the gate. Suggest how to adapt your measure, and explain what this means for the Explanation of Research and Planning. [3]

Answers

The [1] points are a revision aid. The real exam and coursework mark extended answers with levels of response, not point by point.

1. Fact: “I have run my café on Harbour Street for 19 years” (or the 610 holiday lets, which Source B confirms) [1]. Opinion: “Saltmere is losing its soul” (a judgement that cannot be checked) [1]. [2] Examiner insight: quote the source’s exact words, not your summary of the writer’s mood.

2. (a) (640,000 - 310,000) / 310,000 x 100 [1] = an increase of about 106% (106.5%) [1]. (b) Residents fell from 9,200 to 8,100, a fall of 1,100 (about 12%) [1]. The fall was steady and slightly faster later: 500 in 2015-2020, then 600 in 2020-2025 [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “describe” needs direction and figures; “it went down” earns only part credit.

3. Rentals rose (120 to 610) while residents fell (9,200 to 8,100), but two trends moving together do not prove one caused the other [1]. Other causes are not ruled out, such as few jobs outside summer or an ageing population [1]. The data does not show who left or why [1]. Some rentals may be former second homes or new buildings, not family homes [1]. [4] Examiner insight: “correlation is not causation” scores only with a specific alternative explanation.

4. (a) “By 2030, car-free centres will be normal in every coastal town in Ostravia” [1]. (b) “Death sentence for small shops” (or “our old town is choking”) [1]. It creates alarm in place of evidence, making the effect sound certain and severe when little data supports it [1]. [3] Examiner insight: name the words, then explain their effect; spotting them alone earns half.

5. Tomas sees cruise tourism as crowds with little spending: “500 passengers come ashore at once” [1] and “most of them buy nothing but a bottle of water” [1]. He holds this view because his café depends on steady trade and he lives with the crowds [1]. The company sees a major benefit, claiming 1.9 million crowns of spending [1] and that “every business in town benefits” [1]. They run the landing pier, so they have a vested interest in more cruise calls [1]. [6] Examiner insight: “why” marks need the reason behind each position, such as a vested interest.

6. (a) Day visitors more than doubled, from 310,000 to 640,000 (Source B) [1], so more people crowd the same streets in a town of 8,100 residents [1]. Most day visitors still arrive by car (58% in 2025, about 371,000 visits) [1], adding traffic and air pollution on Harbour Street (Source D) [1]. (b) Individual: Tomas’s daughter, a nurse, cannot afford to live in Saltmere [1], so she drives 40 minutes to work (Source A) [1]. Town: homes become holiday lets, so the street is “dead” in winter [1], leaving fewer year-round customers and fewer residents to staff services such as the clinic [1]. [8] Examiner insight: each point needs a source reference plus one step of development.

7. (a) The sample is tiny: 80 of 36,500 passengers (about 0.2%) [1]. All were from one July sailing, which may not be typical [1]. Spending was self-reported, so it may be misremembered or overstated [1]. Passengers who agreed to be interviewed may not be typical; those who spent little may have been less willing to stop [1]. The 1.9 million is 52 x 36,500, assuming every passenger spent the average [1]. It counts spending, not local profit; some may go to firms based outside Saltmere [1]. The company runs the pier, so it has a vested interest in large benefits [1]. Judgement: weak evidence for the exact figure [1]. (b) Survey a random sample of passengers on many sailings across the season [1], checking receipts or card data rather than relying on memory [1]. Ask businesses to compare sales on cruise days with similar days without a ship [1]. Include different types of business to test “every business benefits” [1]. Use an independent researcher to remove the vested interest [1]. Interview residents and traders about costs as well as benefits [1]. [14] Examiner insight: in (b), credit methods that fix the weaknesses found in (a), not “more research”.

8. Indicative content. Hart: the 30% fall in nitrogen dioxide (40 to 28) is a measured figure [1], but from one monitor over four weeks in August, so weather or holiday patterns may explain it [1]. “Families could finally walk safely” has no supporting data [1]. “Every visitor I spoke to loved it” is anecdotal and unrepresentative [1]. Her 2030 prediction is an unsupported generalisation [1]. Dunn: “death sentence” is emotive, not evidence [1]. The 15% fall comes from members, who have a vested interest in keeping cars [1], with no comparison with the previous August and no sample size [1]. “Tourists come by car” is partly supported by Source B (58%) [1], but that share fell from 71%, weakening his claim [1]. Comparison: both rely on one statistic, but Hart’s is measured while Dunn’s is self-reported [1]. Judgement: Hart’s argument is somewhat stronger, though neither proves the long-term effect [1]. [12] Examiner insight: judge reasoning and evidence; your own view on cars earns nothing.

9. Indicative content. Criteria: tackles a cause, fair, affordable and sustainable [1]. Action 3: tackles a cause, as 58% of day visitors arrive by car (Source B) [1], and should cut traffic and pollution, matching the trial in Source D [1]. Visitors can still come, answering Dunn’s fear that they “will simply go elsewhere” [1]. But it costs 3.2 million crowns to build and 280,000 a year to run [1], and traders reported lower takings during the trial [1]. Action 1: spreads visits away from the 60 busiest days [1] and raises about 1.0 million crowns a year [1]. But 4 crowns may be too little to change behaviour [1]. Action 2: tackles the housing pressure in Source A and the rise in rentals (120 to 610) [1], cutting licences by 210, about a third [1]. But it does not reduce day-visitor crowds and may cut overnight stays [1]. Evidence: much of it is weak or interested, such as the traders’ 15% [1]. Combining: fee income could cover the shuttle’s running cost and help repay the build cost [1]. Judgement: Action 3 is most effective because it tackles the car-based cause [1]; funding it from Action 1 makes it more sustainable, while Action 2 addresses a separate housing problem [1]. [16] Examiner insight: top answers set criteria, weigh actions against each other and reach a clear judgement.

10. (a) A question with global scope that people disagree on [1], phrased to allow different perspectives, such as “Should popular destinations charge visitors to enter?” [1]. (b) Local or national: a residents’ group in a tourist town in your country [1], via a local newspaper interview or its own statement [1]. Global: an international body such as UN Tourism [1], via its published reports [1]. [6] Examiner insight: you need clearly different perspectives, including a global one.

11. (a) A “walk or cycle to school” week with a safe-routes map for parents [1]. Count cars at the gate for a week before and during the campaign [1], with a target such as 20% fewer cars [1]. (b) Run a daily hands-up survey in form groups of how pupils arrived [1], before and during the week, so the team still has a baseline [1]. The syllabus says the finished Explanation of Research and Planning should “identify and explain any changes that had to be made”, so the team records this change and why [1]. [6] Examiner insight: state what you will count, when, and against what baseline.

Where marks are usually lost

• Using outside knowledge in source-based answers instead of the sources.
• Accepting a total, such as 1.9 million crowns, without checking how it was calculated.
• Treating a four-week trial as proof of a long-term effect.
• Writing “biased” without naming the vested interest or quoting the loaded words.
• Claiming rentals caused residents to leave just because both changed over the same years.
• Describing perspectives without explaining why each group holds them.
• Judging actions without criteria, or never reaching a clear judgement.

Next steps

• Check your weak spots with a free diagnostic.
• Revisit the Transport, travel and tourism study guide, the Team Project practice and the Individual Report practice.
• Want feedback on your answers? Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

These questions are based on the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025).