英闻天下——342 Balloon Tragedy Raises Concerns over Egypt's Tourism

 　　With vacant hotel rooms and empty cruise ships, the tourism market in Luxor has been hit hard by Egypt's unstable¹ politics.

 

　　"The boat business is very slow these days. In other words, tourism is not like before the revolution. Before, we used to get tired from busy work but now as you see it is very slow."

 

　　"Tourists these days are afraid of walking alone in the streets. They walk with their tour guide, in groups or with security guards. If a tourist wants to visit Dandara, he must take a body guard with him and the same thing applies on visiting Aswan. Nowadays, there is no safety."

 

　　The number of tourists travelling to Egypt dropped from 14.7-million in 2010 to 9.8 million the following year.

 

　　Tourism revenues are down 30-percent, largely due to the political turmoil² and continued protests in the country.

 

　　The deadly balloon crash is only adding to the woes³ for people living in Luxor, which is one of Egypt's prime tourist destinations.

 

　　Occupancy in the city's hotels is only running at around 25-percent right now.

 

　　This time of year is supposed to be the peak tourism season for the ancient Egyptian capital.

 

　　Egyptian tourism minister Hisham Zaazou says the balloon crash won't affect the country's tourism industry in the long run.

 

　　"This is the first time that this incident is taking place so the authorities in Egypt are going through deep analysis of the causes that resulted in this tragic⁴ accident and we are doing our utmost (to see) if there is a specific cause to take care that it doesn't re-occur again in the future. But I do not think this specific incident will have any negative effect on the operation in the medium to longer term."

 

　　Many tourists also say they're undeterred by the grizzly⁵ accident.

 

　　"Yeah, I think that for the balloon accident is not that much of a problem, I mean there are the demonstrations⁶ in Cairo going on, but it is like I still feel safe."

 

　　"Luxor is a perfect place for visiting; I mean I have a nice motorbike tour here and I have been in the Valley of the Kings and in Hatshepsut temple and other places are nice."

 

　　Around 75-percent of those employed in Luxor are connected to the tourism industry, making vistorship - particularly foreign visitors - a life-line for the city.

 

　　Egyptian figures show around 40-percent of Luxor's population lives on less than one US dollar a day.

 

　　That percentage was 18 percent in 2009.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Ding Lulu.

1 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

2 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

4 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

5 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。