VOA慢速英语2018 斯里兰卡旅游业因政治危机遇冷

Political Crisis 1 Hurting Sri Lankan Tourism Industry

The month of December usually marks the beginning of tourism season in Sri Lanka. Visitors come to the Indian Ocean island nation to enjoy its beaches, historic 2 places, interesting nature and tasty food.

12月通常标志着斯里兰卡旅游旺季的开始。游客们来到这个印度洋上的岛国，享受这里的沙滩、历史名胜、有趣的自然风景以及美味的食物。

Tourism represents about 5 percent of the country’s $87-billion economy.

旅游业占到了该国870亿美元经济规模的5%左右。

But Sri Lanka’s current political environment is keeping visitors away. Observers are worried about the possible economic effects.

但是斯里兰卡目前的政治环境让游客们望而却步。观察家们对可能产生的经济影响表示担心。

In late October, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed the country’s prime minister and appointed a new government. The move came as a surprise.

10月下旬，斯里兰卡总统西里塞纳解除了该国总理的职务，并任命了一个新政府，此举令人惊讶。

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who replaced Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister, lacks a parliamentary majority. A Sri Lankan court has prevented Rajapaksa from taking power. Violence has broken out in parliament and the 2019 national budget has been delayed.

取代维克勒马辛哈成为总理的拉贾帕克萨缺乏议会多数席位的支持。斯里兰卡一家法院已经阻止拉贾帕克萨上台。议会爆发了暴力事件，2019年的国家预算被推迟。

High season for travelers to Sri Lanka usually runs from December to March. Most visitors come from Europe, India and China. But many trips are being canceled, especially among Europeans. The Reuters news agency received that information from someone at the national Sri Lankan airlines. The person asked not to be identified.

斯里兰卡的旅游旺季通常从12月到来年3月，大多数游客来自欧洲、印度和中国。但是很多行程都被取消了，特别是欧洲游客。路透社从国有的斯里兰卡航空公司的工作人员那里得到了这些信息，该人要求不透露身份。

The person told Reuters that, “The crisis started just when tourists take a decision where to go...It has discouraged many of them.”

该人士告诉路透社，“这场危机爆发正值游客们决定去哪旅游的时候，这让很多人打起了退堂鼓。”

Chandra Mohotti is manager of the high-end Galle Face Hotel in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. She said that 20 percent of planned visits to the area have been canceled. She said that normally, the 200-room hotel would be filled at this time of year. But instead, the hotel has been forced to offer low-cost rates to appeal to tourists.

Chandra Mohotti是斯里兰卡首都科伦坡的高端酒店Galle Face Hotel 的经理。她说20%到该地区旅游的计划已经被取消。她说通常情况下，这家200间客房的酒店在一年当中的这个时候应该爆满。但是恰恰相反，为了吸引游客，酒店被迫提供了低折扣。

The crisis has also affected 3 business travel. Sanath Ukwatte, president of the Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said some companies have chosen to move their planned events to Singapore, Indonesia and other places in Southeast Asia.

这次危机也影响到了商务旅行。斯里兰卡酒店协会会长Sanath Ukwatte表示，一些公司已经将它们的计划活动改到了新加坡、印尼和东南亚其它地区。

Harith Perera is president of the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators. He said if the current situation continues, the economic effects “will be significant.”

哈里斯·佩雷拉（Harith Perera）是斯里兰卡入境旅游运营商协会的主席。他说，如果现状持续下去，造成的经济影响将会“非常显著。”

More than 2.1 million people visited Sri Lanka in 2017, tourism officials say.

旅游官员表示，2017年有超过210万人到斯里兰卡旅游。

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

tourism - n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

discourage - v. to make (someone) less determined 4, hopeful, or confident

manager - n. someone who is in charge of a business, department, etc.

significant - adj. large enough to be noticed or have an effect