關注奧運:倫敦奧運與旅遊不可兼得?

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.
當奧林匹克運動會2012年在倫敦舉辦的時候，倫敦將上演一場最盛大的晚會，人們希望奧運盛會能把更多的遊客和商機吸引到這個首都城市來。但最近一份報告顯示，這種情形也許不會出現因爲從歷屆奧運主辦城市的經歷來看，遊客人數非但沒有上升，還有所下降。

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.
這也許是2012年最盛大的場景之一，可以想象奧運五環來到倫敦橋塔，那是遊客的夢想。然而，並非所有人都認爲奧運能夠實際刺激旅遊業。

The European Tour Operators Association is clearly not convinced about the benefits of the Games.
歐洲旅行社協會並不認爲奧運會能使旅遊業收益。

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.
湯姆·詹金斯(執行總監）：我認爲人們能做的最重要的一點，就是把奧運會看作是一場盛大的晚會，而不是婚禮。你來到這場晚會，就盡情享受，但不要期望會有附帶的獲利，那是不會發生的事情。

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.
有人說，遊客會因擔心酒店和餐廳價格過高，機票太緊張以及城市太擁擠而刻意避開在這個時候前往倫敦。事實上今天我們聽到了相反的聲音。

Would you be put off coming to London during Olympics?
你會因奧運而推遲你的倫敦之旅嗎？

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.
遊客甲：不，我不會。我絕對還會去，因爲倫敦是一個及其刺激的城市，即便人潮洶涌也如此。　

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.
遊客乙：如果我想去，我還是會去， 無論那裏是否比平時更多人。當然那時候人肯定更多，消費也更貴。

　Despite this report the people responsible for selling London are still up-beat.
儘管新出爐的報告對前景並不看好，但致力推銷倫敦的人們依然樂觀。

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.
馬丁·安斯沃斯-韋爾斯（倫敦旅遊局營銷總監）：有人過分悲觀了。從歷屆主辦城市的經驗以及我們對倫敦的瞭解，我們有理由相信奧運給我們的回報會是豐厚的。來自活動組織方，各種會議和體育比賽組織方從現在到2012的諮詢和預定數量都已經開始上升。

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. ”
有一點是毋庸置疑的，倫敦不能單憑奧運會讓人們蜂擁而至。這座首都城市必須讓世界相信，“奧運倫敦”還有其他方面的魅力。

(轉載請註明出處)