VOA慢速英语2019 美国接待的中国游客数量有所下降（在线收听）

The United States tourism industry is facing a problem: A drop in the number of Chinese visiting U.S. cities and states.

美国旅游业正面临一个难题：到访美国各州和城市的中国游客数量有所下降。

Close to 3 million Chinese traveled to the country last year. They spent quite a lot of money. The U.S. Travel Association estimates they spent an average of $6,700 per person per trip. That amount is more than 50 percent higher than the average spending of international tourists, the group said.

去年有近300万中国游客到美国旅游。他们花了很多钱。美国旅游协会估计他们平均每人花费了6700美元。该协会表示，这一数字比国际游客的平均消费高出了50%以上。

But the number of visitors from China dropped nearly 4 percent in the first six months of this year. This follows a nearly 6% drop in 2018.

但是今年上半年，中国游客数量下降了近4%。在此之前的2018年下降了近6%。

Reasons for the Drop in Chinese Tourists

中国游客人数下降的原因

Tourism industry experts say there could be several reasons for the smaller number of visitors.

旅游业专家表示，游客人数下降可能有几方面的原因。

Theresa Belpulsi is with Destination DC, the tourism marketing office for Washington, DC. She thinks one of the reasons is trade tensions between the two countries.

特丽萨·贝尔鲍西就职于华盛顿旅游局，这是华盛顿特区的旅游营销机构。她认为原因之一是两国之间的贸易关系紧张。

"With the trade war, with some of the travel warnings, with some of our visa challenges that we've had, we've seen a little bit of a dip in Chinese visitors," she said.

她说：“因为贸易战，因为（中国发出的）一些旅游警告，以及我们遇到的一些美国签证难题，我们看到了中国游客人数有所下降。”

"The U.S. is just losing market share," notes Adam Sacks, president of advisory service Tourism Economics. "Something's made the U.S. uncompetitive, and I would target the trade war as one of the reasons."

旅游经济咨询公司的负责人亚当·萨克斯指出：“美国正在失去市场份额。有些东西让美国失去了竞争力，我认为贸易战就是其中的原因之一。”

Larry Yu is a professor of hospitality management at George Washington University. He says that people are slow to forget the idea that a country has an unwelcoming environment.

拉里·余是乔治华盛顿大学的酒店管理学教授。他说，人们很难忘记一个国家大环境不友好的印象。

"The trade war creates a kind of environment in China that makes people think twice," Yu said. "Even though we know that Chinese demand is high, the current environment makes people substitute the U.S. for another place."

拉里·余表示：“贸易战在中国形成了一种让人们三思而行的大环境。即使我们知道中国需求很高，但是当前的大环境让人们用其它地方取代了美国。”

China's government has published two warnings for Chinese interested in visiting the United States: One was about gun violence; the other, about harassment by U.S. law enforcement.

中国政府向想要到美国旅游的中国人发出了两条旅游警告：一条是关于枪支暴力，另一条是关于美国执法部门的骚扰。

In a related issue, visa approvals for Chinese visitors have become more difficult. The U.S. rejection rate of Chinese tourist visa applications reached 17 percent in the 12 months from October 2017 to September of 2018. Five years earlier, the rate was a much lower 8.5 percent.

另一方面，中国游客的签证通过也变得更加困难。2017年10月到2018年9月的这12个月里，美国对中国旅游签证的拒签率达到了17%。这一比例在5年前要低得多，仅为8.5%。

U.S. tourism competitors are also taking steps to attract Chinese travelers. The European Travel Commission has joined with Chinese representatives at travel shows and partnered with Chinese media personalities to share videos and social media posts.

美国旅游竞争对手也在采取措施吸引中国游客。欧盟旅游委员会与中国代表一起参加了旅游展，并跟中国的媒体人士合作转发视频和社交媒体帖子。

The commission notes that Europe welcomed 14 million Chinese tourists last year.

该委员会指出，欧洲去年接待了1400万中国游客。

U.S. Travel Industry Tries to Get More Tourists

美国旅游业试图吸引更多游客

Adam Sacks of Tourism Economics says he hopes that local travel marketing agencies across the country can help raise the number of Chinese tourists.

旅游经济咨询公司的亚当·萨克斯表示，他希望美国各地的当地旅游营销机构可以帮助提升中国游客数量。

The District of Columbia, for one, has increased its advertising and programs for China. Destination DC's latest plan is to offer hotel discounts for the Lunar New Year in 2020. The plan includes a number of events and performances aimed at Chinese tourists.

举例来说，哥伦比亚特区增加了在中国的广告和项目。哥伦比亚特区旅游局最新的计划是在2020年农历新年期间提供酒店折扣。该计划包括针对中国游客的许多活动和表演。

San Francisco has used social media to reach out to Chinese tourists. The city created ads that drove some 12 million people to a contest showcasing the city's famous landmarks. The San Francisco Travel Association says the city used two popular Chinese apps, WeChat and Weibo, for the campaign.

旧金山利用了社交媒体来吸引中国游客。该市制作了广告，吸引了大约1200万人参加了展示该市著名地标的比赛。旧金山旅游协会表示，该市启用了两个热门中文应用程序微信和微博用于宣传。

At the same time, tourism marketing agencies for U.S. cities and states are trying to reach countries other than China. Utah and Los Angeles, among others, are trying to expand their presence in nations like India.

与此同时，美国各州和城市的旅游营销机构正试图吸引中国以外的其它国家。犹他州和洛杉矶州等地都在努力扩大在印度等国家的影响力。

"There's a great deal of interest," said Jamie Foley of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. "But that comes with the understanding that India is very different from China."

洛杉矶会议及旅游局的杰米·弗利表示：“人们非常感兴趣。但是这是基于印度与中国截然不同的理解。”

Even with the drop in Chinese tourists, some experts note how important China will be to the U.S. tourism industry for years to come.

即使中国游客人数下降，一些专家也指出了中国未来几年对美国旅游业的重要性。

"The trade war's an important subject, but it's seen as a temporary setback," said Sage Brennan, co-founder of the company China Luxury Advisors. "Over the next 20 to 30 years, China is going to continue to impact and shape the tourism market."

中国奢侈品顾问公司的联合创始人萨奇·布伦南表示：“贸易战是一个重要议题，但是它被视为一种暂时的挫折。在未来二三十年里，中国将会继续影响和塑造美国旅游市场。”