2017年CRI New Orleans catering specifically to Chinese tourists

 

Chinese tourists spend billions of dollars overseas each year, and while there are always the "must see cities," secondary markets are now emerging.

Cities such as New Orleans in the southern US are now pulling out all the stops to attract them to The Big Easy.

New Orleans is always a "go-to" spot for U.S. tourists, but the city is now looking abroad at a wealth of visitors who want to spend more time and money.

Kim Priez, senior vice¹ president of tourism, New Orleans Convention and Tourism Bureau.

"China has been on our radar² for about six years. Probably we were behind the curve. We don't want to put a lot of money into China yet. You know, six years ago, we were kind of dabbling³ in it, we were exploring it."

New Orleans, hometown of Jazz [Photo: baike.com]

The bureau is now spending 30 percent of its annual budget to lure⁴ the growing Chinese middle class.

Stevie Garcia, head of New Orleans Custom Tours, is a key link in making Chinese guests feel at home in New Orleans.

New Orleans just signed a contract with a Chinese tourist company, and Garcia spends a lot of time with tour groups coming from Beijing, Shanghai and elsewhere.

"One of the new big things is feeling special. You can do whatever you want here -- architecture, obviously the birthplace of Jazz, lot of jazz is really popular. You have the food, I mean we have some of the greatest food in the world. We always compete with New York City for food and they've got, you know, 15 times more people than we do."

It's not just the night life, shopping, food and of course Bourbon Street. There is a lot to see once tourists get out of the city. They can go on a swamp tours and see alligators⁵, turtles and bald eagles.

One thing Chinese tourists love, according to Garcia, is a New Orleans staple⁶ -- Mardi Gras themed parties.

City leaders including Kim Priez say they are building a foundation to attract Chinese tourists who come to the U.S. to visit New York, Washington D.C., or San Francisco.

"We are secondary, we understand that, but when you are in the United States and you are close enough to New Orleans -- pop over, because it will be the best two days of your life."

Over the past decade, Chinese visitors to the United States have grown nearly 10-fold from 320,000 arrivals in 2006 to over 3 million in 2016, which was designated as the "China-U.S. Tourism Year."

California currently attracts 45.5 percent of all Chinese visitors -the highest percentage of any U.S. state.

During his meeting with US president Donald Trump⁷ on Friday, tourism is one of the sectors⁸ mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote People-to-people exchanges.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 dabbling   

v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• She swims twice a week and has been dabbling in weight training. 她一周游两次泳，偶尔还练习一下举重。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The boy is dabbling his hand in the water. 这孩子正用手玩水。 来自辞典例句

4 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

5 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

6 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》