曼谷超越倫敦成全球第一大旅遊目的地
Bangkok has emerged as the world's top tourist destination, with 15.98 million visitors projected to descend in Thailand's capital city this year, according to the third annual Global Destination Cities Index released by MasterCard on Monday.
據萬事達卡(MasterCard)週一發佈的年度全球旅遊目的地城市指數(Global Destination Cities Index)顯示，泰國首都曼谷成爲世界第一大旅遊目的地，預計今年將迎來1,598萬遊客。這已是萬事達卡連續第三年發佈該指數。
Based on data MasterCard collected from governments, central banks, related public agencies and airlines so far this year, the projection for the entire year says Bangkok is surpassing London, the previous holder of the top place, by a very narrow margin.
萬事達卡基於今年年初至今從各國政府、央行、相關公共部門和航空公司收集的數據做出了對全年的預測。預測顯示，曼谷將以極微弱的優勢超過上年的冠軍倫敦奪得第一名。
Monday's report marked the first time any Asian city has been projected to be the top-ranked tourist destination. London came in second, with 15.96 million visitors expected in 2013, and Paris, third, with 13.92 million visitors. MasterCard looked at 132 cities.
週一發佈的報告是首次預測亞洲城市成爲世界第一大旅遊目的地。倫敦排在第二，預計2013年遊客數量將達1,596萬；巴黎排在第三，遊客1,392萬。萬事達卡對132個城市進行了排名。
Other Asian cities that made it to the Top-20 Global Destination Cities in 2013 include Singapore at number four, with 11.75 million visitors; Kuala Lumpur at number eight, with 9.2 million visitors; Hong Kong at number nine, with 8.72 million visitors; Seoul at number 11, with 8.19 million visitors; Shanghai at number 14, with 6.5 million visitors, Tokyo at number 16, with 5.8 million visitors, and Taipei, with 5.19 million visitors.
躋身2013年全球20大旅遊城市的其他亞洲城市包括新加坡（第四），遊客1,175萬；吉隆坡（第八），遊客920萬；香港（第九），遊客872萬；首爾（第11），遊客819萬；上海（第14），遊客650萬；東京（第16），遊客580萬；臺北，519萬。The study found that Bangkok is experiencing a large increase in its number of tourists in 2013, up 9.8% from 2009. That compares to New York's increase at 5.0% and London's at 3.8%. Paris, meanwhile, saw a small dip in its number of tourists (negative 0.7%).
該研究發現，2013年曼谷的遊客數量將大幅增加，較2009年增長9.8%。相比之下，紐約增5.0%，倫敦增3.8%。與此同時，巴黎遊客數量小幅下降（減少0.7%）。
Caroline Lledo, who was visiting with her mother from France, said Thailand has many offerings.
與母親來泰國旅遊的法國遊客列多(Caroline Lledo)說，泰國有很多吸引人的東西。
'We like culture and the people are so nice. We also love shopping here, ' Ms. Lledo said.
她說，我們喜歡泰國的文化，這裏的人非常好，我們也喜歡在這裏購物。
MasterCard Worldwide's global economic adviser Yuwa Hedrick-Wong cited overall value for money spent for why Bangkok is attractive. That is true for Thailand overall as well.
萬事達卡國際組織(MasterCard Worldwide)全球經濟顧問王月魂(Yuwa Hedrick-Wong)說曼谷吸引遊客的原因之一是到這裏旅遊物超所值。在泰國旅遊也是如此。
However, in terms of visitor spending, Bangkok is projected to bring in a total of US$14.3 billion dollars and is ranked at fourth this year, while New York continues to be the top city, where visitors will spend around $18.6 billion dollars in 2013.
不過，按遊客消費額計算，預計曼谷今年旅遊收入將達143億美元，排在第四。紐約繼續保持第一的位置，2013年赴紐約旅遊的遊客消費總額約達186億美元。
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) adviser Suwanchai Ritthirak cited official data in saying that each foreign visitor spends an average of 9.6 days and 4, 100 baht (about US$141.50) in the country. Therefore, to boost Bangkok's ranking, more needs to be done to increase either or both factor.
泰國政府旅遊局(Tourism Authority of Thailand)顧問Suwanchai Ritthirak援引官方數據說，每位外國遊客平均在泰國待9.6天，花費4,100泰銖（約合141.50美元）。因此，爲提升曼谷的排名，需要做出更多努力吸引遊客待更長時間和/或更多消費。
Asia-Pacific destinations have outperformed cities in the other parts of the globe, said Mr. Hedrick-Wong. Looking at the past five years, he predicted that Asia will likely continue to see a boost in the number of tourists. Not only will more international visitors visit the region, but more Asians will be traveling to cities beyond their own countries.
王月魂說，亞太地區的旅遊目的地表現超過了世界其他地方。從過去五年的情況看，他預測亞洲入境遊客數量將可能繼續攀升。不僅會有更多的國際遊客到該地區旅遊觀光，還會有更多亞洲遊客赴亞洲其他國家旅遊。
