VOA慢速英语--普吉岛老虎公园希望外国游客回来

A tiger park in Phuket, Thailand is preparing to welcome back foreign visitors this week.

The re-opening is part of a plan to bring back foreign visitors with proof of COVID-19 vaccination¹ to the island. The visitors do not have to follow lockdown restrictions². After 14 days, as long as they have no coronavirus infection, they can travel elsewhere in Thailand.

Prepared for safe reopening

Chadarat Taodaeng is the general manager of Tiger Kingdom in Phuket. He said the park had put safety measures in place before Thursday's reopening to help foreign visitors feel comfortable.

"We have vaccinated³ more than 90 percent of our staff and also trained them about the 'new normal' tourism," the manager said. The park has more than 50 tigers and a cheetah⁴. And visitors can get close to them. Since the pandemic lockdowns, visitor numbers have dropped from nearly 1,000 a day to fewer than 20.

Thailand lost about $50 billion in tourism money when foreign arrivals fell to 6.7 million last year. In 2019, the country had nearly 40 million visitors. And Phuket suffered from a large number of job losses and business closings.

Mental health of animals and people

"I'm happy that finally there will be people visiting the tigers, and Phuket city will be bustling⁵ again," said the park's assistant manager, Phonphawit Ton-od. She added that the reopening would "help with both tigers' and the staff's mental health."

There has been an increase in the popularity⁶ of parks like the Tiger Kingdom, even though conservationists criticize them. There are concerns over safety after some attacks by the animals. Bringing back visitors is important to Thailand's economy. But government officials also have to deal with a recent increase in coronavirus infections.

The government hopes Phuket's pilot program will bring 129,000 visitors to Thailand from July through September. That number is still far below the average 3.3 million monthly arrivals in 2019.

Abdulrahim A-waekechi cares for the animals in the park. He said, "I'm happy about the park reopening because our cheetah Gregor loves being around tourists and staff."

Words in This Story

tourism – n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure

bustling – adj. moving or going about in busy or hurried way

conservationist - n. a person who works to protect animals, plants or natural resources

1 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

4 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

5 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

6 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。