VOA常速英语2007年-Senegal, Gambia Hold Fair to Promote Responsibl

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
03 November 2007

Hotel owners, neo-traditional craftsmen¹, and others in the tourism trade from Senegal and the Gambia convened² in Senegal's capital, Dakar, this week for the first ever sub-regional tourism fair to promote responsible tourism. Participants say events like these will create connections across the region that will help them compete better with the big international tour companies. Naomi Schwarz has more from the fairground in downtown Dakar.

In a small stand as part of a tourism fair, one vendor³ shows off his wares⁴.

He is selling traditional Senegalese products in a non-traditional way. Bissap juice, for instance, is made with an infusion⁵ of hibiscus flowers. In Dakar, dried flowers sell by the tomato-can full, from women with masses of them in calabash bowls. But here the flowers have been put into individual-sized tea bags, which travel better and can appeal to foreigners unfamiliar⁶ with the juice.

His colleague explains their business.

The vendor says he and his colleague help local producers make high quality products that they can sell in hotels and in the local market.

They are participating in "Mboka 2007," a tourism fair organized by a partnership⁷ between Senegal's National Organization for Indigenous⁸ Tourism and the Gambia's Association of Small-Scale Enterprises in Tourism.

Amie Puye, another participant in the fair who works for a Gambian company that makes fair-trade clothing out of local cloth, says the name, Mboka, reflects the goal of the organizers and participants. "It is Wolof, (and) it means to build family between Senegal and Gambia."

Puye says they traveled to the fair in Dakar to make contacts in the tourism business across the sub-region, which she hopes will increase their sales.

So far, she says, it has been a success. "Some tour operators (have) already passed, so we have given them our cards, explain things, so they promised to bring tourists."

Aziz Samb, president of the organizing committee, says the fair is designed to create a community for small, locally-owned tourism businesses. He says developing this side of the tourism industry will help develop the countries themselves, as well. He says all the profits made by big hotels owned by multi-national chains go out of the country.

But small hotels with local owners, like the one he runs with only 15 rooms, mean the profits stay in the community.

This, he says, it what "responsible tourism" means, especially in impoverished⁹ countries like Senegal and the Gambia. He says the tourists also stand to benefit, by coming into contact with locals and experiencing with them the culture and crafts.

Senegal and the Gambia are two of West Africa's most stable countries. Both rely on tourism as one of their top earners, after agriculture.

1 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

2 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

3 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

4 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

5 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

6 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》