Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Transport, travel and tourism – Revision Notes

These notes condense the Transport, travel and tourism study guide. Read that first if anything here is new.

They follow the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025). Transport, travel and tourism is one topic in the section 3 topic list, which the syllabus says is for all components: Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project. The skills come from section 2 (assessment objectives) and section 4 (details of the assessment).

Topic knowledge is not assessed. The syllabus says so plainly. These notes show how to use this topic to practise the skills that are: research, analysis and evaluation (AO1), reflection (AO2), and communication and collaboration (AO3).

Practise with the Transport, travel and tourism practice questions. See the 0457 course hub and the 0457 checklist.

The assessment in one table

Component	What the syllabus says	Marks and weighting
1 Written Exam	Four compulsory questions on sources; 1 hour 25 minutes; prior knowledge of the topic is not assessed	70 marks, 35%
2 Individual Report	Global issue that divides opinion; your own question as the title; 1500-2000 words	60 marks, 30%
3 Team Project	Local issue; Explanation of Research and Planning (300-400 words), Evidence of Action, Reflective Paper (750-1000 words)	70 marks, 35%

Command words printed in the syllabus: analyse, describe, evaluate, explain, identify, suggest.

Key terms

Syllabus terms (section 3)

Term	Syllabus meaning
Issue	An important subject or problem for discussion
Perspective	A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning
Research	The systematic study of a global issue to find evidence and develop understanding
Evidence	Information that helps develop understanding or prove something true or false
Argument	A series of statements containing reasons and evidence which support a claim

Component 1 terms (section 4) with transport and tourism examples

Term	Short meaning	Example
Claim	Something stated as true, which may or may not be supported	“Bus lanes cut travel times.”
Fact	Can be checked and shown true or false	“The bridge opened in March.”
Opinion	A personal belief or judgement	“Coach tours are the worst way to travel.”
Generalisation	A broad statement applied to a whole group	“Locals always hate tourists.”
Prediction	A statement about the future	“Visitor numbers will double by 2035.”
Value	A belief about what matters	Freedom to travel, safety, fairness, heritage
Vested interest	Gaining or losing from the outcome	A cruise company commenting on limits to cruise ships
Bias	One-sided presentation	A resort advert showing only empty beaches

Topic vocabulary you may meet in sources (useful for reading, not marked for itself)

Term	Meaning
Overtourism	So many visitors that residents’ lives or the place are harmed
Carrying capacity	How many visitors a place can take before serious damage or crowding
Congestion charge	A fee to drive into a busy zone
Modal shift	Switching from one way of travelling to another
Sustainable tourism	Tourism planned to protect environment and community long term
Short-term rental	A home let to visitors by the night
Vulnerable road users	Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists

Real evidence at a glance

Who / what	Finding	One evaluation point
WHO, Global status report on road safety 2023	About 1.19 million road deaths a year, down 5% since 2010; leading cause of death for ages 5-29; nine in ten deaths in low- and middle-income countries	Countries record deaths differently and some under-report, so it is an estimate
Stockholm congestion charge trial, January-July 2006	Traffic across the charging boundary fell by about 20-25%	A short trial cannot show long-term effects alone; a 2012 study of the first five years found the fall had lasted
Stockholm referendum, September 2006	53% yes in the city; about 40% yes in the surrounding municipalities that voted; permanent from August 2007	Shows position shapes perspective: who gains and who pays
Venice day-visitor fee, from 25 April 2024	5 euros on 29 days in 2024; 54 days in 2025, 10 euros if booked late; overnight guests exempt	Residents protested that it ignored housing and services; aim was crowding at peak times
France short-haul flight ban, May 2023	Domestic flights banned where a train takes under 2.5 hours; three routes from Paris-Orly	Airlines for Europe called it “symbolic”; both sides have a stake
Bhutan Sustainable Development Fee	65 to 200 US dollars a night in September 2022; cut to 100 dollars from 1 September 2023	Shows an action being adjusted once its effects were seen: visitor numbers had not recovered as hoped

Must-know distinctions

• Fact vs claim. “The fee applied on 29 days” is a fact. “The fee reduced crowding” is a claim that needs evidence.
• Opinion vs perspective. An opinion can be unsupported. A perspective, in the syllabus definition, rests on evidence and reasoning.
• Trial result vs long-term effect. A few months of data cannot show what happens after people adjust.
• Correlation vs cause. Holiday rentals rising while residents fall does not prove the rentals pushed people out.
• Bias vs vested interest. Vested interest is a reason a source may be biased. Bias is the one-sided presentation itself. Name the interest and quote the loaded words.
• Symptom vs cause. A visitor fee treats crowding on busy days. It may not touch a cause such as housing being turned into holiday lets.
• Short-term vs long-term consequence. Crowded streets are short-term. Families leaving a town is long-term.
• Global vs local issue. The Individual Report needs a global issue with local and/or national and global perspectives. The Team Project needs a local issue.

Mini essay plan: evaluating two arguments

Typical extended task (in the style of the Written Exam’s argument question): “A councillor argues for closing the old town to cars; a shop owners’ group argues against. Evaluate the two arguments. Which is stronger?”

1. Judgement first. Say which argument is stronger, in one sentence.
2. Argument 1, reasoning. Is the claim clear? Do the reasons lead to it? Spot generalisations, predictions and emotive language.
3. Argument 1, evidence. How was it collected? How large and how long? Who collected it, and do they have a vested interest?
4. Argument 2, reasoning. Same checks.
5. Argument 2, evidence. Same checks. Is anything checkable, or is it all assertion?
6. Comparison. Weigh the two directly: which has more relevant, reliable evidence, and fewer gaps in reasoning?
7. Reasoned conclusion. Repeat the judgement, give the deciding reason, and say what evidence would change it.

Remember: you are judging the quality of the arguments, not whether you like cars.

Quick self-test

1. What does the syllabus say about knowledge of content in 0457?
2. Give the syllabus meaning of “issue”.
3. “Air travel will be fully electric by 2040.” Fact, opinion or prediction?
4. A cruise company says limits on ships would harm every shop in a port. Which evaluation term explains why you should be cautious?
5. Give one strength and one limitation of Stockholm’s 2006 trial as evidence.
6. Why did voters inside Stockholm and in surrounding municipalities tend to vote differently?
7. What did Venice residents who protested the fee say it failed to address?
8. Name one consequence of overtourism at the personal level and one at the local level.
9. Which component needs a local issue rather than a global one?
10. Why is “Is road safety important?” a weak Individual Report question?
11. Suggest one measurable Team Project action on a transport issue.

Answers

1. It is not assessed. The topics are a context for practising skills.
2. An important subject or problem for discussion.
3. A prediction. It is about the future and cannot yet be checked.
4. Vested interest. The company gains if limits are not introduced.
5. Strength: traffic was measured in a real trial. Limitation: a few months may not show long-term effects.
6. City residents gained cleaner, quieter streets; many people outside drove in and would pay the charge.
7. Housing and services for residents.
8. Personal: a resident cannot get through crowded streets to work. Local: homes become holiday lets and rents rise.
9. Component 3, the Team Project.
10. Almost everyone agrees, so it does not divide opinion or give clearly different perspectives.
11. For example, a walk-to-school week, measured by counting cars at the gate before and during the week.

Where marks are usually lost

• Bringing in outside facts in the Written Exam instead of using the sources provided.
• Treating a short trial’s result as proof that an action works in the long term.
• Saying “biased” without naming who gains and quoting the loaded language.
• Accepting a spending or visitor figure without asking how it was calculated and from how many people.
• Claiming one trend caused another just because both changed together.
• Treating “tourists”, “residents” or “drivers” as groups with one view each.
• Evaluating actions with no stated criteria, so the judgement looks like a guess.
• In the Individual Report, listing several actions but never choosing one or explaining how it would be implemented.
• In the Team Project, choosing an action with no way to measure its success.

Links

• Transport, travel and tourism study guide and practice questions
• Written Exam guide, Individual Report revision notes and Team Project revision notes
• Related topics: Globalisation and Climate change, energy and resources
• 0457 course hub and 0457 checklist

Official syllabus

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