Tourism in South-East Asia --China whirl

Travellers are flocking to the region, especially from China

摘自The Economist April 14th 2018

The view from the top of Marina Bay Sands, a giant hotel, mall and casino, takes in the skyscrapers of Singapore, the fleets of ships entering and leaving the city’s ports, the scattered tropical islands of the Singapore Strait and the crowds of soggy but determined selfie-takers trying to capture a perfect image of it all from the enormous infinity pool. Among thecelebrities the hotel has lured for a damp snap are Jing Boran and Fu Xinbo, Chinese film and music stars. China Daily, a Chinese state-owned newspaper, has declared the spot the eighth most romantic in the world. The place displays itself all over Chinese social media and offers special discounts and packages to visitors from China.

Such spin is increasingly important. Last year, for the first time, China was the biggest source of tourists to Singapore, accounting for 3.2m of its 17.4m visitors. Be- tween January and September alone they spent more than S$3bn ($2.3bn).

All across South-East Asia, tourism is booming. The number of visitors jumped by 49% between 2010 and 2015, to more than 109m. Tourism in Asia and the Pacific is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. The region receives a quarter of the world’s holidaymakers (Europe’s share is still a half).

South-East Asia’s Edenic islands, ancient temples and delicious food are strong enticements. Visitors also flock to countries with cheap currencies: the weakness of the ringgit last year helped draw visitors to Malaysia, for example. Many countries in the region depend on the cash: tourism accounts for about 28% of Cambodia’s GDP and more than 20% of Thailand’s.

The most remarkable growth has been in tourists from China. The number visiting South-East Asia has increased fivefold over the past decade (see chart). Newly wealthy Chinese spent almost $261bn travelling abroad in 2016, up from $73bn in 2011.

Indonesia, for one, has relaxed its visa rules to attract more of them. More seats on cheap flights have also helped pull in tourists: between 2013 and 2016 the number available each week on flights to South- East Asia from China increased from 92,000 to 188,500.

But for the frenzied holidaying to continue to grow, infrastructure must improve, reckons Paul Yong of DBS, a Singaporean bank. Airports in places such as Manila and Jakarta arecrumbling and surrounded by snaking traffic. Plans are afoot to increase annual capacity at Bangkok’s airports by tens of millions over the next four years. Hanoi’s Noi Bai will be expanded at a cost of $5.5bn to accommodate 35m passengers by 2020. Airports in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are to be upgraded too.

Other threats to thriving tourism are far harder to plan around. Travel operators tremble at the thought of economic downturns, volcanic eruptions and epidemic diseases. The head of one luxury holiday company says the regional outbreak of SARS, a respiratory disease, more than 15 years ago almost brought the industry to its knees. Political spats between China and its neighbours are another problem. So too is the manner in which Chinese visitors have beenvilified in the region for snaffling prawns at buffets, barging into queues and misbehaving on planes. It makes many of them feel unwanted. But given that just 135m of China’s 1.4bn people have ever travelled abroad, South-East Asian countries should prepare to welcome many more Chinese—even when they clog up the infinity pool.

Essential Words and Expressions

flock to 蜂拥到

soggy adj.湿透的

selfie n.自拍

infinity n.无限

celebrity n.名人

lure v.吸引

discount n.折扣

enticement n.诱惑，怂恿

increase fivefold 增长五倍

frenzied adj.疯狂的

crumble v.破裂

accommodate v.容纳

threat n.威胁

tremble v.发抖，颤栗

respiratory adj.呼吸道的

spat n.口角

vilify v.污蔑，诽谤

barge into queue 插队

本文作者简介：

王少娟

上海新航道雅思主讲，上海外国语大学教育技术学硕士。对综合英语的阅读教学有深入的研究，教授了数百名学生均取得了优异的英语成绩。讲解细致、逻辑清晰、课堂活跃，丰富的教学经验能帮助学生在学习中和练习中能够更有效的提高英语能力。

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