People travel for a lot of reasons.Some tourists go to see battlefields or religious shrines.26are looking for culture，or simply want to have their picture27in front of famous places.But most European tourists are looking for a sunny beach to lie28.Northern Europeans are willing to pay a lot of money and29a lot of inconveniences for the sun because they have so little of it.Residents of cities like London，spend a lot of their winter in the dark30the days are so short，and much of the rest of the year in the rain.This is the reason the Mediterranean has always attracted them.Every summer，more than 25 million people travel to Mediterranean31and beaches for the same reason：sun!The huge crowds mean lots of money for the economies of Mediterranean countries.Italy’s 30,000 hotels are32solid every summer.And 13 million people33out on French beaches，parks，and roadsides.Spain’s long sandy coastline attracts more people than anywhere34.But there are35that the area is getting more tourists than it can handle. The Mediterranean is already one of the most polluted36on earth.And with increased tourism， it’s getting worse.The French can’t figure out what to do with all the garbage37by campers around St.Tropez.None of this，however，is spoiling anyone’s fun.Obviously, they don’t go there for clean water and solitude.They tolerate traffic38and seem to like crowded beaches.They don’t even mind the pollution.No matter39dirty the water is，the coastline still looks beautiful. And as long as the sun40，it’s still better than sitting in the cold rain in London.

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