关注奥运:伦敦奥运与旅游不可兼得?

When the Olympics come to London in 2012, it will be the biggest party in town, and it’s hoped the event will attract more visitors and businesses to the capital. But a new report suggests that that may not happen because previous Olympic cities have seen tourism stall rather than grow.
当奥林匹克运动会2012年在伦敦举办的时候，伦敦将上演一场最盛大的晚会，人们希望奥运盛会能把更多的游客和商机吸引到这个首都城市来。但最近一份报告显示，这种情形也许不会出现因为从历届奥运主办城市的经历来看，游客人数非但没有上升，还有所下降。

This could be one of the most spectacular settings in 2012. There’s speculation about the Olympic rings going on Tower Bridge; a tourist’s dream, you’d imagine. But not everybody believes that tourism will get a real boost from the games.
这也许是2012年最盛大的场景之一，可以想象奥运五环来到伦敦桥塔，那是游客的梦想。然而，并非所有人都认为奥运能够实际刺激旅游业。

The European Tour Operators Association is clearly not convinced about the benefits of the Games.
欧洲旅行社协会并不认为奥运会能使旅游业收益。

Tom Jenkins (Executive Director): I think the most important thing that people can do is look upon the Olympics as a…as a great party, rather like a wedding. You have the party, enjoy that party, but don’t think it’s going to give you any lateral benefit. It won’t.
汤姆·詹金斯(执行总监）：我认为人们能做的最重要的一点，就是把奥运会看作是一场盛大的晚会，而不是婚礼。你来到这场晚会，就尽情享受，但不要期望会有附带的获利，那是不会发生的事情。

Some say tourists will stay away because they fear hotel and restaurant prices will be too high, flights will be too packed and the capital will be overrun. Actually we found the opposite today.
有人说，游客会因担心酒店和餐厅价格过高，机票太紧张以及城市太拥挤而刻意避开在这个时候前往伦敦。事实上今天我们听到了相反的声音。

Would you be put off coming to London during Olympics?
你会因奥运而推迟你的伦敦之旅吗？

Visitor A: No, no I wouldn’t. I would definitely go because London’s an exciting city, and even with a lot of tourists around.
游客甲：不，我不会。我绝对还会去，因为伦敦是一个及其刺激的城市，即便人潮汹涌也如此。　

Visitor B: Well, if I want to come, I’ll come. It wouldn’t matter if there are more people; of course there would be more and of course it would be more expensive.
游客乙：如果我想去，我还是会去， 无论那里是否比平时更多人。当然那时候人肯定更多，消费也更贵。

　Despite this report the people responsible for selling London are still up-beat.
尽管新出炉的报告对前景并不看好，但致力推销伦敦的人们依然乐观。

Martin Ainsworth-Wells (Marketing Director for Visit London): It’s overtly pessimistic. Everything that we’ve learned from previous cities, everything that we know about London leads us to believe that the benefits…are going to be big. We’ve already seen an increase in inquiries and bookings from event organizers, from conferences, from sporting event organizers, from now until 2012.
马丁·安斯沃斯-韦尔斯（伦敦旅游局营销总监）：有人过分悲观了。从历届主办城市的经验以及我们对伦敦的了解，我们有理由相信奥运给我们的回报会是丰厚的。来自活动组织方，各种会议和体育比赛组织方从现在到2012的咨询和预定数量都已经开始上升。

One thing is certain. London can’t just expect tourists to flock to the sites because of the Games. The capital will have to convince the world that there’s something extra special about an “Olympic London. ”
有一点是毋庸置疑的，伦敦不能单凭奥运会让人们蜂拥而至。这座首都城市必须让世界相信，“奥运伦敦”还有其他方面的魅力。

(转载请注明出处)