VOA常速英语2008年-American Economic Woes Affect European Tourism

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
02 April 2008

The dollar's sharp drop on currency markets, along with economic doldrums in the United States are taking their toll¹ on American tourists and expatriates overseas. Even Paris has seen a 10 percent decline in its number-one foreign visitor. Lisa Bryant looks at the issue from the French capital.

The cold and rainy weather in Paris has not stopped Joe Schaeffer, an American tourist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from visiting the City of Lights with his family of four. Nor have the city's expensive prices - all the higher because of the huge drop in value of the American dollar compared to the European euro.

"We were coming anyway, not matter the price. We might not stay as long. We might eat cheese sandwiches," he said.

At Notre Dame² cathedral a few blocks away, Linda Surma from Detroit, Michigan says she is also shocked by high prices in Paris these days.

"We were at just a little cafe and it cost me five euros for tea - a tea bag. I thought that was rather ridiculous. I mean, what is a tea bag? My soup was seven and a cup of tea was five and that was a little shocking," she said.

But Surma does not regret deciding to come to Paris, and has no plans to trim tourist attractions from her itinerary³ because of the expense - even if she might not buy souvenirs.

Paul Roll is managing director of the Paris Convention and Visitors Office. He says Americans tourists in Paris - who numbered about 1.5 million last year - tend to cut expenses when the dollar is weak, rather than cancel their trip.

"We have no statistics on the subject, but we have seen over the years that when it gets more expensive to go to Europe, they downgrade the type of services they buy. Instead of going to a luxury hotel, they will go to a four-star hotel. Instead of going to a gastronomical⁴ restaurant, they will go to something that has less stars on the Michelin (restaurant guide)."

But recently a number of Americans have been staying away from Paris altogether - and from Europe as a whole - as the dollar reaches record lows against the euro. Right now, it is nearly a $1.60 against the European currency - a few years ago, the two currencies were about equal.

Paris, has weathered a decline in tourism before - notably⁵ in 2003, when trans-Atlantic differences over the Iraq war were at a high. At the time, the French tourist office launched a campaign to woo back Americans, hiring American actor and director Woody Allen for a promotional clip titled: "Let's Fall in Love Again."

Roll says the Paris tourism bureau has no immediate⁶ plans for a new charm offensive, although some Paris hotels are offering fixed⁷ euro-to-dollar rates.

But worries about the falloff of American tourism can be seen elsewhere in Europe. In Ireland, the tourism ministry⁸ announced it had earmarked an extra 4.8 million euros to market the island's attractions in North America. The Irish Hotels' Federation⁹ is also promoting a price discount.

Meanwhile in Amsterdam, Dutch currency outlets¹⁰ are turning away tourists trying to exchange their dollars, fearing to be caught with a loss as the currency continues its breathtaking fall.

In Paris, Americans who are paid in dollars are also hurting. That includes Eleanor Beardsley, the correspondent for National Public Radio, the American public radio channel.

"It is getting so bad I do not even look at the exchange rate every day. I do not go shopping anymore for clothes," she said. "It is just depressing. Every time you look at your bank statement on line - I might withdraw 300 (euros), that is $500. It is just completely depressing and I do not see any end in sight."

But American companies operating in Paris have been less affected¹¹ by the dollar's decline, according to Oliver Griffith, managing director of the American Chamber¹² of Commerce. Many of them hire Europeans, not Americans, who are paid in euros - not dollars.

"American companies that invest in France have not declined that drastically," he explained. "Because a lot of the companies are multinational¹³. They have assets in dollars, euros, all over the place. They get some inputs¹⁴ in euro-denominated countries, others in dollar-denominated countries."

Others are profiting from the slump¹⁵. Griffith says French investment in the United States has climbed sharply during the past two years - and America exporters are eyeing new opportunities furnished by a cheaper dollar.

Even when it comes to tourism, Roll of the Paris office is pragmatic. Paris has seen a surge of Russian, Chinese and other foreign visitors who have recently made up for the drop in American ones. Even the drop in U.S. visitors, he says, is just part of the cycle.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

3 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。

4 gastronomical   

adj.美食法的，美食学的

参考例句：

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

13 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

14 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

15 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。