年北京入境遊客數量再次下滑
Overseas tourists continued to shun Beijing through 2013.
2013年到中國旅遊的外國遊客還是選擇避開了北京。Amid rising pollution and a strengthening yuan, the capital city saw its tourist numbers drop to 4.20 million visits from January to November from 5.01 million visits in 2012, according to China Daily, citing a report from China Tourism Academy and Beijing Commission of Tourism Development. An earlier report based on a survey of domestic travel agents showed that visitors to the capital declined by roughly 50% in the first three-quarters of the year compared with a year earlier.
《中國日報》(China Daily)援引中國旅遊研究院(China Tourism Academy)和北京市旅遊發展委員會(Beijing Commission of Tourism Development)的一篇報告稱，污染狀況加劇以及人民幣升值，使得北京去年1月至11月間的外國遊客數量從2012年同期的501萬人下降至420萬人。此前一份基於對國內旅行社的調查的報告顯示，去年前三個季度赴北京旅遊的遊客數量較上年同期下降約50%。The number of inbound travelers to Beijing grew after the city hosted the 2008 Olympics until 2012, when it saw a 3.8% decline, followed by the further drop last year.
自2008年北京奧運會後，北京入境遊客數量持續增加。然而2012年這一數字下降了3.8%，並在去年進一步下滑。
The unexpected drop in 2013 came in spite of new policies--such as the city's 72- hour visa waiver for transit passengers--that were introduced in an attempt to nurture China's tourism industry.
2013年北京入境遊客的減少可謂出乎意料。此前北京市出臺了72小時過境免籤等多項新政策，其目的正是爲了促進旅遊產業發展。But only 14,000 tourists took advantage of the visa-free stopover, according to the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, well short of the 20,000 target officials had previously predicted.
然而據北京出入境邊防檢查總站(Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection)稱，只有14,000名旅客辦理了過境免籤手續，遠低於官方此前預計的20,000人。Jiang Yiyi, deputy director of the Institute of International Tourism at the China Tourism Academy, attributed part of the dropoff in foreign tourists to the strengthening yuan.
中國旅遊研究院國際旅遊研究所(Institute of International Tourism)副所長蔣依依認爲，外國遊客數量下降的部分原因在於人民幣的升值。In 2013, the yuan appreciated almost 3% against the U.S. dollar, making 'Beijing a more expensive destination than in the past,' Jiang Yiyi noted.
蔣依依說，2013年人民幣兌美元匯率上漲近3%，使北京成爲了一個更加昂貴的旅遊目的地。At the same time, she said, other countries have seen their tourist numbers spike as the currencies weaken.
她還指出，其他國家在其貨幣貶值的同時呈現出旅客數量的大幅增加。'While RMB is on the rise, currencies from some of China's competitors for tourism, such as Japan, are depreciating, meaning travel to some other Asian countries has been getting cheaper while travel to China is becoming more costly,' Jiang Yiyi said.
她說，在人民幣升值的同時，與中國在旅遊業方面構成競爭關係的國家（如日本）的貨幣貶值，這意味着到其他一些亞洲國家旅遊的費用更加便宜，而來中國旅遊更貴了。In 2013, the yen fell 21% against the U.S. dollar, helping it to attract 10 million overseas tourists--including, despite Sino-Japanese border disputes in the East China Sea, many wealthy travelers from China.
2013年日圓兌美元下跌21%，這爲日本吸引來1,000萬海外遊客，儘管中日兩國在東中國海（中國稱東海）存在領土爭端，然而這些遊客中有許多是來自中國的富人。The Beijing Tourism Development Commission noted that the country's battle with pollution is another obstacle cities face in attracting inbound tourists.
北京市旅遊發展委員會指出，污染問題是中國在吸引外國遊客入境旅遊的過程中面臨的又一障礙。Heavy air pollution from Beijing, which saw its worst bout of smog in recent history in January, to Shanghai, where pollution levels went off the charts in December, certainly don't do much to help attract tourists.
北京、上海等城市都存在嚴重的空氣污染問題。北京1月份爆發了近期最爲嚴重的霧霾，而去年12月上海空氣污染指數一度爆表。嚴重的空氣污染問題顯然無助於吸引更多外國遊客前來旅遊。China's tourism officials are looking to reverse the trend of declining inbound visitors in 2014--possible, experts say, if it revamps its outdated tour packages and lowers ticket prices.
中國的旅遊業官員正力圖在2014年扭轉入境遊客減少的情況，專家認爲，如果能對其過時的旅行團進行改進並降低票價，這一計劃就有可能實現。Jiang Yiyi at the China Tourism Academy suggests China adopt a long-term national plan to improve the country's image and investment in inbound tourism to attract more visitors.
中國旅遊研究院的蔣依依建議，中國政府應實行一項長期的國家計劃，以提升國家形象並投資於入境旅遊以吸引更多遊客前來。Hopefully the experts come up with a better plan than one that fell flat earlier this year. The country's tourism body unveiled a 'Beautiful China' logo in February to market the country overseas, but the campaign was mocked for its contrast with the many photos of China's not-so-beautiful cities shrouded in pollution.
去年2月份中國國家旅遊局啓用一個名爲“美麗中國”的標誌，意在向海外宣傳推廣其旅遊形象，然而有人諷刺“美麗中國”這一名稱與中國城市在嚴重污染之下那一張張“不太美麗”的照片相比反差太大。希望專家們今後能設計出一個好一點的方案來。
