中國人成爲亞洲旅遊業增長動力

Travellers from China are powering a rise in Asian regional tourism spending that is outstripping economic growth but could leave infrastructure in some countries lagging in its wake.

中國遊客正成爲推動亞洲地區旅遊業支出上升的動力，但也讓一些國家的基礎設施顯得跟不上需求。

Growing arrivals from the Middle Kingdom have fuelled double-digit annual rises in visitor receipts in popular cities, as expanding air routes make trips more cost-effective.

隨着空中航線增多讓旅行變得更划算，中國遊客不斷增多，推動一些亞洲熱門城市的年度遊客接待量實現了兩位數增長。

Bangkok’s rebound after a big hit last year from its political crisis highlights the unquenched appetite of a generation of newly wealthy Chinese for venturing south, in volumes that have at times left some destinations feeling overwhelmed.

曼谷旅遊業去年因泰國政治危機受到嚴重衝擊，但如今已有所恢復，凸顯了中國新一代富裕人羣去東南亞旅遊的願望是多麼的無法遏制。中國遊客的數量之多，經常讓一些旅遊地感到難以承受。

Asian cities accounted for half the top 10 most popular overnight visitor destinations worldwide, according to a report published by MasterCard on Wednesday. Individuals’ spending in Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo has increased by compound annual rates of at least 9.7 per cent over the past six years, even if their fortunes varied last year.

萬事達(MasterCard)週三發佈的一份報告顯示，在全球十大最受歡迎的旅遊目的地裏，亞洲城市佔了一半。過去6年裏，遊客在曼谷、新加坡、首爾、臺北和東京的人均支出複合年增長率起碼爲9.7%，儘管去年他們的財富狀況發生了變化。

China is providing the impetus throughout, with visitor numbers to its old enemy Japan climbing more than three-quarters last year. Spending across the region is also being lifted by shopping mall developments and the rise of niche sub-industries, such as health tourism in Singapore and halal tourism in Malaysia.

這6年裏，中國始終是這一趨勢的推動力量，去年前往宿敵日本的中國遊客增加了逾四分之三。中國遊客在亞洲地區支出的增多，部分也因大型購物中心的發展以及一些小衆旅遊市場的崛起——比如新加坡的健康遊和馬來西亞的清真美食遊。

Mainland Chinese tourist arrivals in Thailand in March more than doubled year on year to almost 680,000, according to government statistics, also taking them far past their pre-troubles 2013 level. China and other Asian countries accounted for almost two-thirds of total tourist visitors to Thailand in March, up from just over 50 per cent last year, while Europe’s share fell from 32 per cent to 21 per cent.

泰國政府統計數據顯示，今年3月前往該國的中國大陸游客同比增加了一倍多，達到近68萬人次，也遠遠超過該國局勢動盪之前的2013年的水平。3月，中國和其他亞洲遊客幾乎佔到前往泰國的遊客總量的三分之二，超過去年略高於二分之一的水平，而歐洲遊客的比例從32%降到了21%。

It has not all been plain sailing, however, as the visitor upturn has once again stoked worries over long-delayed projects to improve Thailand’s creaking transport and resort infrastructure.

然而，形勢並非一片大好。遊客增多再次讓人們對泰國一些長期延遲的項目感到擔憂——這些項目旨在改善泰國本已不堪重負的交通和度假基礎設施。

There has also been a spate of negative coverage about the behaviour of some Chinese holidaymakers, including air rage, public defecation and drying underwear at a temple. But critics of the tales say they are unrepresentative, inevitable given the large number of visitors — and humdrum companion pieces to infamous stories about the conduct of some Britons and other westerners.

近日也出現了一連串有關中國度假者的負面報道，包括他們在飛機上鬧事、在公共場所大小便和在寺廟中晾曬內衣。但批評者表示，這些現象沒有代表性，在大量遊客到來的情況下難以避免，跟一些英國人和其他西方人的不雅舉止沒什麼區別。