VOA标准英语2012--Mexico Tourism Thrives in Spite of Violent Crime

 

Mexico Tourism Thrives in Spite of Violent Crime

At the recent G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico's tourism secretary, Gloria Guevara, hailed world leaders for recognizing tourism's role in promoting economic development.

“One of every 12 jobs in the world are related to travel and tourism,” Guevara said.

But Mexico's image as a tourist destination has suffered from a crime wave that has prompted its top two visitor nations, the United States and Canada, to issue travel warnings.

In spite of the trouble, Mexico set a record last year, with more than 22 million international visitors.

Mexico is a big country and while some areas are like war zones, tourist destinations tend to be as safe or safer than the cities where many tourists live.

Retired¹ businessman Bob Gebo and his wife Christine came to Cabo San Lucas from California 11 years ago on a fishing boat and decided² to call it home.

“I think it is the safest place I have ever been,” Gebo said.

The Gebos are among the many thousands of American retirees who live in Mexico.

Bob Gebo says he and his wife enjoy interacting with Mexicans.

“If you live here like I do, you don't want it to be like southern California; you don't want this to turn into San Diego. This is a quiet place, it is not over-run... and the Americans that are here are a more adventurous³ type of people or they would not be all the way down here,” Gebo said.

Part of what keeps Cabo safe is a local police force that both residents and tourists can count on.

That is a key element in controlling crime, says security analyst⁴ Alejandro Hope.

“For its many, many flaws, municipal police forces have played a role that is very difficult to replace from afar,” Hope said.

Mexican federal police and soldiers patrol some areas where state and city forces have become corrupt⁵ or overwhelmed, but Hope says the worst violence occurs when there is a lack of local vigilance.

“They are the actions not of a criminal mastermind, but criminals who can do those things because of impunity," Hope said.

Hope notes that the recent creation of strong local police forces in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez has brought down murder rates dramatically and also reduced cases of extortion, kidnapping and robbery.

“As violence goes down, so will these other forms of crime," Hope said.

Hope says it will take many years and a lot of work on such things as judicial⁶ reform and police training to achieve the peace and order Mexico's citizens and visitors desire. 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 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。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。