英语新闻丨Visa-free travel boosts Southeast Asian tourism

An influx of Chinese travelers in the past few months has enabled Southeast Asia's tourism industry to recover from the pandemic-induced slump, analysts say.分析人士表示，过去几个月中国游客的涌入使东南亚旅游业从大流行引发的低迷中复苏。While China has long been one of the key travel markets for members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, decisions made by Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand last year to waive entry requirements for Chinese tourists bolstered tourism receipts in the first two months of this year.中国长期以来一直是东南亚国家联盟成员国的主要旅游市场之一。新加坡、马来西亚和泰国去年做出的免除中国游客入境要求的规定进一步提振了今年前两个月的旅游收入。Visa-free access for Chinese tourists is a "facilitating factor" in boosting ASEAN tourism industry receipts, said John Paolo Rivera, associate director of the Dr Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism at the Asian Institute of Management in the Philippines. Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders among travelers in Southeast Asia, Rivera said.菲律宾亚洲管理学院安德鲁·L·谭博士旅游中心副主任约翰·保罗·里维拉表示，对中国游客免签是提高东盟旅游业收入的“促进因素”。中国游客是东南亚游客中最大的消费群体。"Alongside the volume of Chinese tourists, the Chinese spending habit has driven consumption spending and the tourism contribution to GDP" in Southeast Asia, he said, noting tourist spending has helped the ASEAN travel industry to recover from losses posted during the pandemic.他还表示，中国游客除了数量多之外，中国人的消费习惯也拉动了东南亚的消费和增加了旅游业对GDP的贡献。这极大帮助了东盟旅游业从疫情期间的损失中恢复过来。Chinese tourists' spending has perhaps created the biggest influence on Singapore.中国游客的消费或许对新加坡造成了最大的影响。Official figures showed international visitor arrivals in the city-state reached 13.6 million last year, with China among the top three source markets. Tourism receipts reached $15 billion in the first nine months last year, and Chinese tourists were the biggest spenders with their total receipts hitting more than $1.7 billion, the Singapore Tourism Board said.官方数据显示，去年来到这个城市国家的国际游客人数达到1360万人次，其中中国跻身三大客源市场之列。新加坡旅游局表示，去年前九个月的旅游收入达到150亿美元，其中中国游客是最大的消费群体，总收入超过17亿美元。Flight connectivity航班通达The board expects the tourism sector's recovery to continue this year through improved global flight connectivity and the implementation of the mutual 30-day visa-free travel between China and Singapore that started on Feb 9.新加坡旅游局预计，通过改善全球航班连接以及自2月9日开始实施中国和新加坡之间30天互免签证旅行，今年旅游业将继续复苏。Yu Hong, a senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said the mutual visa-free agreement has boosted the number of Chinese visitors to Singapore, especially during Spring Festival. Singapore has always been a popular destination among Chinese tourists because of its geographical proximity, cultural similarities and the presence of many direct flights to and from Chinese cities, Yu said.新加坡国立大学东亚研究所高级研究员于红表示，互免签证协议增加了前往新加坡的中国游客数量，特别是在春节期间。由于地理位置接近、文化相似以及有许多往返中国城市的直航航班，新加坡一直是中国游客的热门目的地。In Malaysia, officials welcomed passengers aboard China Eastern Airlines' inaugural flight on March 16 from Kunming in Yunnan province to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.在马来西亚，官员们欢迎乘客搭乘中国东方航空于3月16日从云南省昆明飞往马来西亚首都吉隆坡的首航航班。Manoharan Periasamy, director-general of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, said in a statement that this new route provides a "great opportunity" to bring in more Chinese tourists, especially after the visa-free policy took effect on Dec 1.马来西亚旅游推广局局长马诺哈兰·佩里亚萨米(Manoharan Periasamy)在一份声明中表示，这条新航线为吸引更多中国游客提供了“绝佳机会”，特别是在免签政策于12月1日生效之后。This year, Malaysia is eyeing 27.3 million international tourist arrivals, with 5 million expected to come from China.今年，马来西亚预计接待2730万名国际游客，其中500万人次来自中国。Meanwhile, 3.96 million foreign tourists arrived in Thailand from Jan 1 to Feb 8, with those from China topping the list with 730,747 visitors, Thai government spokesman Chai Wacharonke was quoted in media reports as saying.与此同时，媒体报道援引泰国政府发言人柴·瓦查隆克(Chai Wacharonke)的话说，1月1日至2月8日，有396万名外国游客抵达泰国，其中中国游客以730,747名游客位居榜首。On March 1, the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand was up more than 30 percent compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, according to the online travel agency Trip.com, Xinhua News Agency reported.据新华社报道，在线旅行社携程网的数据显示，3月1日，前往泰国的中国游客人数同比增长超过30%。Qin Jing, vice-president of Trip.com Group, said the implementation of mutual visa exemption in March holds significantly positive implications for the growth of tourism in both countries.携程集团副总裁秦静表示，3月份互免签证的实施对两国旅游业的增长具有显着的积极影响。visa-free travel免签旅游take effect生效