经济学人:旅行签证 一种奇怪的欢迎方式

 　　Business: Travel visas A strange sort of welcome

　　商业：旅行签证，奇怪的欢迎方式

　　Governments are deterring¹ business travellers and tourists with cumbersome² visa requirements that do little to make their countries more secure.

　　多国政府正以繁琐的签证要求阻挡商务旅行者和观光客，而这对维护国家安全作用甚微。

　　THE rise of big emerging economies like China and India, and the steady march of globalisation, have led to a surge in the numbers of people wanting to travel abroad for business or tourism.

　　中国和印度等大型新兴经济体的崛起，加上全球化的稳步迈进，使得想出国商务旅行或观光旅游的人数激增。

　　As a result, demand for visas is at unprecedented³ levels.

　　因此，对签证的需求达到了前所未有的水平。

　　旅行签证奇怪的欢迎方式.jpg

　　In the fiscal⁴ year to the end of September 2014 the United States granted just under 10m visas—up from around 6m in 1997, despite blips in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001 and the global financial crisis of 2007-08.

　　截至2014年9月底的财政年度里，美国颁发了接近1000万份签证。签证数量从1997年的约600万份起逐渐增加，仅在2001年911恐怖袭击和2007至2008年全球金融危机之后有所波动。

　　Citizens of America, Britain and some other rich countries can travel to most places without a visa.

　　美国、英国和其他一些富裕国家的公民无需签证即可到世界上大部分地区旅行。

　　Chinese and Indian travellers are far more likely to have to apply for them.

　　中国和印度的旅行者需要申请签证的几率要大得多。

　　And citizens of a few benighted⁵ places, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, have to submit to the cost and bureaucracy—and often the humiliation—of the visa-application process to get to most places.

　　而少数几个落后国家如伊拉克和阿富汗等国的公民想去大部分地方都不得不忍受签证申请的高成本和繁缛流程，还时常被羞辱。

　　The most sensible response to this surge in demand for short-term visas would be for governments to streamline⁶ the application process and scrap⁷ the most onerous⁸ requirements.

　　短期签证的需求激增，最明智的应对应当是政府简化申请程序，废除最繁重的要求。

　　But governments are often not sensible about such things.

　　但是各国政府在这方面往往不那么明智。

　　The 26 European countries with a common visa policy—the “Schengen group” —require tourists from India and other developing countries to provide several months' worth of bank statements and pay slips.

　　拥有统一签证政策的26个欧洲国家，即“申根国”，要求来自印度和其他发展中国家的旅行者提供数月的银行对账单和工资单。

　　Visitors to Britain often have to fill in a ten-page application form, including details of every trip abroad for the past ten years.

　　去英国旅行的人通常得填写十页的申请表，包括过去十年每次出国旅行的详细情况。

　　Business travellers to India must provide two references.

　　去印度的商务旅行者必须提供两份推荐信。

　　Mexico has scrapped⁹ a rule requiring visa applicants¹⁰ (including women) to submit a description of their mustaches.

　　墨西哥已经废除了一条规定，要求签证申请人（包括女性）提交关于其胡须的描述。

　　But in 2016 America will start requiring visas for some travellers who currently do not need them—if, for example, they have visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan in the previous five years.

　　但2016年美国将开始要求一些目前无需签证的旅行者申请签证，例如，那些在过去五年内到访过伊朗、伊拉克、叙利亚或苏丹的人。

　　In many cases, instead of simplifying the visa process, governments have offloaded it to private contractors¹².

　　很多时候，政府并未简化签证流程，而是把它转交给私营承包机构。

　　Travellers may now have to pay a service fee to the company handling their application on top of the standard visa fee.

　　现在，除了标准的签证费，旅行者可能还需要向处理申请的公司支付一笔服务费。

　　The biggest firm in this growing business is VFS Global, which is part of Kuoni, a Swiss tourism company.

　　在这个不断增长的行业中，最大的公司是VFS Global，它是瑞士旅游公司瑞士旅业集团的子公司。

　　Starting from a single premises¹³ in Mumbai in 2001, handling applications for American visas, VFS now has more than 1,900 visa centres in 124 countries, processing paperwork for 48 governments.

　　2001年VFS从位于孟买的一个单一办理机构起家，处理美国签证申请，现在它在124个国家设有1900多个签证中心，为48个政府处理签证材料。

　　Of the 113m visa applications made worldwide in 2013, one in three went through a contractor¹¹, reckons VFS, which has about half the market.

　　据VFS估算，2013年全球1.13亿份签证申请中，有三分之一通过承包商处理，其中VFS占有一半市场。

　　Its main rivals are CSC, with around 10% of the market, and TLScontact, with around 7%.

　　它主要的对手是约占10%市场份额的CSC和约占7%市场的TLScontact。

　　Dozens of smaller firms make up the remainder of the market.

　　几十家较小的公司瓜分了剩下的市场。

　　The private contractors collect and verify the applicant's paperwork, ensure that forms are filled in properly, take fingerprints¹⁴ and other biometric information and collect the fees.

　　私营承包机构收集并验证申请者的文件，确保表格正确填写，采集指纹和其他生物识别信息，并且收取费用。

　　The consular¹⁵ staff of the destination country simply decide whether to grant the visa, and slap a sticker in the passport of successful applicants.

　　目的地国领事馆的工作人员只决定是否颁发签证，并在申请成功者的护照上贴上贴纸。

　　For the contractors, it is a nice little earner.

　　对于承包机构来说，这门生意很好赚。

　　VFS probably enjoys operating margins¹⁶ of 20%, reckons Kathleen Gailliot, an analyst¹⁷ at Natixis, a French bank.

　　法国外贸银行的分析师凯特琳·加耶里奥估算，VFS很可能享有20%的毛利率。

　　The companies are given a free hand to pad their earnings¹⁸ with pricey “premium” services.

　　这些公司已被赋予自主权，通过昂贵的“高级”服务来增加收入。

　　In Mumbai, for example, VFS offers Indians applying for British visas a text on their mobile phones to notify them that their passports are ready for collection, at 128 rupees ($2) a shot.

　　例如在孟买，VFS向申请英国签证的印度人提供发送短信到手机的服务，通知他们护照已经可取，收费为128卢比（2美元）一单。

　　For an extra 2,548 rupees, applicants can use a special “lounge” area while submitting their documents, and have their passports posted back to them.

　　另加2548卢比，申请人在提交文件时可以使用特别的“休息区”，办好的护照也可以寄回给他们。

　　VFS accounts for just 5% of Kuoni's revenues but more than 60% of its operating profits.

　　VFS仅占瑞士旅业集团收入的5%，但占其营业利润的60%还多。

　　So bright are the division's prospects¹⁹ that its parent company is getting out of the tour-operator business, which it has been in since 1906, to concentrate on visa-processing and a few other specialist travel services.

　　这一部门的前景非常光明，因此母公司正逐步脱离自1906年起就开始运营的旅行社业务，专注于签证办理和其他几项专业旅行服务。

　　Until VFS opened its Mumbai office, applicants had to queue for an average of five hours in the sweltering heat outside the American consulate²⁰.

　　VFS在孟买开设分公司之前，申请人要顶着酷暑在美国领事馆外排平均五个小时的队。

　　After the job was handed to the contractor, the typical waiting time fell to one hour.

　　这项工作转交承包机构之后，一般的等候时间减至一小时。

　　However, applicants still have no choice but to submit to whatever petty demands contractors make—such as, say, banning them from using mobile phones while they sit waiting for their appointments.

　　但是申请人除了接受承包机构的各项要求之外仍然别无选择，无论这些要求多麽琐碎，例如，不准在等待面谈时使用手机。

　　If the staff are rude, the queues are badly managed or the “extras” extravagantly²¹ priced, travellers can hardly take their business elsewhere.

　　即便工作人员粗鲁无礼，队伍排得乱七八糟，或者“额外费用”高昂，旅行者也难有其他选择。

　　The application-processing firms are profiting both from travellers' lack of choice and from governments' failure to consider the economic damage caused by their visa requirements.

　　签证申请处理公司从两个方面获利：一是旅行者缺乏选择，二是政府没能考虑到签证要求造成的经济损失。

　　There is scant²² evidence that making all travellers submit the same documents every time they want to travel, or provide extensive financial details, protects countries from terrorists or illegal immigrants.

　　鲜有证据能证明，让所有旅行者每次想旅行时都提交同样的文件，或是提供大量的财务信息，就能保护国家免受恐怖分子或非法移民的侵害。

　　In contrast, there is evidence of how liberal visa regimes bring in the bucks²³.

　　相反，倒是有证据显示自由的签证制度能带来何等利益。

　　A report in 2014 from the European Parliament, “A Smarter Visa Policy for Economic Growth”, estimated that over-strict visa rules probably cost the EU economy 250,000 jobs and 12.6 billion euro ($13.8 billion) a year in lost output.

　　2014年欧洲议会一份名为“促进经济增长的更明智签证政策”的报告估算，过于严格的签证规定可能让欧盟经济每年损失25万个工作岗位，产出损失达126亿欧元（138亿美元）。

　　It recommended requiring fewer documents from applicants, handing out longer visas and simplifying the whole process.

　　报告建议减少要求申请者提交的文件，颁发更长期的签证，并且简化整个流程。

　　Since Britain is not part of the Schengen group, Chinese people taking a tour of Europe have to apply for a second visa to cross the Channel.

　　因为英国并不是申根国，去欧洲旅游的中国人要穿越英吉利海峡就不得不再申请一个签证。

　　Only 6% of them do so, says Euromonitor, a research firm.

　　研究公司欧睿称仅有6%的人这么做。

　　The British Tourist Authority has complained that the country's visa policies cost it ￡2.8 billion ($4.1 billion) a year in lost revenue.

　　英国旅游局曾经抱怨英国的签证政策让该国每年损失28亿英镑（41亿美元）的收入。

　　However, amid worries about the wave of asylum-seekers from Syria and elsewhere, governments in Europe and beyond will face pressure to keep making life hard for tourists and business travellers—even as other departments of those same governments spend heavily on promoting tourism and foreign investment.

　　不过，由于担心来自叙利亚和其他地区的难民蜂拥而至，欧洲和欧洲以外的各国政府将面临压力，商务旅行者和观光客的日子仍然不会好过，尽管这些政府的其他部门在花大钱促进旅游业和外国投资。

　　1.In contrast 相反

　　例句:In contrast to haas, he is a delight.

　　和哈斯大不一样，他却是一个令人愉快的人。

　　2.short-term 短期的

　　例句:Investors²⁴ weren't concerned about short-term profits over the next few years

　　投资者对未来几年里的短期收益并不感兴趣。

　　3.foreign investment 外国投资

　　例句:For years we were taught that Uncle Sam and foreign investment were the problem.

　　多年以来我们都被教导美国和外资乃是问题所在。

　　4.free hand 自主权；自行决定权

　　例句:They gave her a free hand with the project.

　　他们让她全权处理这项工程。

1 deterring   

v.阻止，制止( deter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• However, investors say are a number of issues deterring business. 然而，投资者表示，有很多问题让他们却步。 来自互联网
• It's an effective way of deterring potential does online, the logic goes. 逻辑上这是抑制潜在线上威胁的有效方法。 来自互联网

2 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

3 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 benighted   

adj.蒙昧的

参考例句：

• Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened,heed only one side and you will be benighted.兼听则明，偏信则暗。
• Famine hit that benighted country once more.饥荒再次席卷了那个蒙昧的国家。

6 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

7 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

8 onerous   

adj.繁重的

参考例句：

• My household duties were not particularly onerous.我的家务活并不繁重。
• This obligation sometimes proves onerous.这一义务有时被证明是艰巨的。

9 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

10 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

11 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

12 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

14 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 consular   

a.领事的

参考例句：

• He has rounded out twenty years in the consular service. 他在领事馆工作已整整20年了。
• Consular invoices are declarations made at the consulate of the importing country. 领事发票是进口国领事馆签发的一种申报书。

16 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

17 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

18 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

19 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

20 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

21 extravagantly   

adv.挥霍无度地

参考例句：

• The Monroes continued to entertain extravagantly. 门罗一家继续大宴宾客。 来自辞典例句
• New Grange is one of the most extravagantly decorated prehistoric tombs. 新格兰奇是装饰最豪华的史前陵墓之一。 来自辞典例句

22 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

23 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会