“內憂外患”使美國不再對全球旅行者產生吸引力。
數據顯示，世界各國的旅行者對環球旅行興趣漸濃，但去美國旅行的意願大幅下降。
圖 via Washington Post illustration; iStock
According to the World Tourism Organization, a United Nations agency, the number of international tourist arrivals around the world reached 1.4 billion last year. That represented a 6 percent increase, and the organization forecast the number to grow by 3 or 4 percent this year.
根據聯合國機構世界旅遊組織的數據，去年全球出國旅遊人次達到14億，同比增長6%。該組織預測，今年這一數字將增長3%或4%。
But in the first half of this year, the number of international visitors coming to America has actually dropped nearly 1.7 percent. That’s according to preliminary data from the Commerce Department’s National Travel and Tourism Office, which shows that slightly more than 37 million foreign travelers came to the country between January and June.
但是今年上半年，到達美國的國際旅遊人次實際下降了近1.7%。這是根據美國商務部國家旅行和旅遊辦公室的初步數據得出的。數據顯示，今年1月至6月，赴美旅遊的外國遊客數略多於3700萬。
According to a forecast from the U.S. Travel Association, an industry trade group, the outlook for 2019 is for visitor numbers to remain just about the same as last year. Even if that holds true and the country doesn’t see a dip for the full year, the news is not good.
根據美國旅遊協會行業組織的預測，2019年的遊客數量將與去年持平。即使這是真的，且即使全年數據不會出現下滑，也不是什麼好消息。
▲More people are traveling the world than ever. But the number coming to America is dropping. (via The Washington Post)
圖 via 網絡
據美國旅歐協會最新一期的月度報告顯示，外國遊客對美國的訪問熱情依然不高。造成來美遊客人數下降的原因很多，包括經濟降溫、貿易摩擦、美元價值堅挺，以及中美貿易戰對赴美中國遊客的影響等。
“Ongoing global economic cooling, prolonged and expanding trade tensions, and uncertainty surrounding the Trump administration remain major risks to international traveler sentiment,” the report says.
報告稱：“持續的全球經濟降溫、持續且不斷擴大的貿易緊張局勢，以及特朗普政府的不確定性，仍是影響國際遊客情緒的主要風險。”
The value of the dollar also remains strong, making travel more expensive for visitors from other countries, says David Huether, the group’s senior vice president of research.
美國旅遊協會研究部高級副總裁David Huether說，美元的價值仍然堅挺，這使得其他國家遊客的旅遊費用更加昂貴。
Trade wars with China could cost the country 1.9 million inbound visitors and $11 billion in spending between 2018 and 2020, according to research from the consultancy Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics. Through July, travel from China is down 3.7 percent compared with last year, according to Commerce Department figures. That’s on top of a drop last year, the report says.
牛津經濟研究院旗下旅遊經濟研究院的研究顯示，在2018年至2020年期間，與中國的貿易戰可能使美國損失190萬入境遊客以及110億美元。美國商務部的數據顯示，整個7月，來自中國的旅遊人數同比下降3.7%。報告說，這是在去年下降的基礎上增加的。
▲More people are traveling the world than ever. But the number coming to America is dropping. (via The Washington Post)
肯尼迪國際機場 圖 via AP
專家指出，中國遊客減少的現象不容忽視。
“Someone should care about this as much as they care about U.S. auto manufacturing or agriculture,” says Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics.
“人們應該像關心美國汽車製造業或農業一樣關心這個問題，”旅遊經濟研究院總裁亞當•薩克斯說道。
“Given the size of the traveling class in China and how much that’s grown, and the strong desirability that the U.S. holds in Chinese travel intentions, we’d expect to see growth in the range of 10 percent. ”
“考慮到中國旅遊階層的規模和增長速度，以及美國對中國人旅遊意願的強烈需求，我們原本預計中國遊客人數將增長10%。”
▲More people are traveling the world than ever. But the number coming to America is dropping. (via The Washington Post)
此外，今年6月，中國政府警告其公民前往美國可能面臨的槍支暴力、搶劫和盜竊風險。
“Tourism is one of the few areas where the U.S. has a positive trade balance,” said Adam Sacks, president of Tourism Economics. “This bright spot is being tarnished when we lose Chinese visitors.”
“旅遊業是美國少數幾個貿易順差的領域之一，”旅遊經濟研究院總裁亞當·薩克斯說道。“當我們失去中國遊客時，這個亮點正在失去光彩。”
“Chinese travelers haven’t changed their propensity for travel, they are just choosing different destinations,” said Linda Zhang, the chief executive and founder of Purview Investments, which manages investment strategies with low-carbon footprints. “It’s just that the fascination with coming to America isn’t there anymore, it’s not a priority. They’d rather go to Paris, to Rome, to Moscow.”
“中國遊客並沒有改變他們的旅遊傾向，他們只是選擇了不同的目的地，”投資策略公司Purview Investments的首席執行官兼創始人Linda Zhang說道。“只是美國的吸引力已經不復存在了，不再是優先考慮的目的地。他們寧願去巴黎、羅馬、莫斯科。”
In fact, travel from China to the European Union tripled from 2006 to 2016.
事實上，2016年從中國到歐盟的遊客人次是2006年的兩倍。
▲‘Trump Slump’ in Travel to U. S.? Not Quite (via The New York Times)
圖 via 網絡
而隨著美國在國際旅遊市場份額的減少，專家們開始擔心其對美國經濟的影響，使美國失去“贏家”的地位。
Travel is a key part of the economy, supporting 15.7 million American jobs and generating $2.5 trillion in economic output.
旅遊業是美國經濟的重要組成部分，為美國提供了1570萬個就業機會，創造了2.5萬億美元的經濟產出。
“America isn’t winning when it’s falling behind global heavyweights like China, Germany, France, the U.K., Spain and others,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, executive vice president for public affairs and policy at the U.S. Travel Association, a trade group.
“當美國（在旅遊業上）落後於中國、德國、法國、英國、西班牙等世界強國時，它就不是贏家，”美國旅遊協會行業組織負責公共事務和政策的執行副總裁托里·愛默生·巴恩斯說道。
▲‘Trump Slump’ in Travel to U. S.? Not Quite (via The New York Times)
你怎麼看赴美遊客減少？歡迎留言並分享觀點！
資料：The Washington Post, The New York Times
圖/題圖：Washington Post illustration; iStock, AP, 網絡
閱讀更多 環球時報英文版 的文章
