VOA常速英语2008年-New York City Surpasses Tourism Record

By Victoria Cavaliere
New York
01 February 2008

A new report finds that tourism to New York City rose by six percent in 2007. An estimated 8.5 million visitors came from overseas, even as international travel to other American destinations declined. Victoria Cavaliere reports from VOA's New York Bureau that the weakened dollar made New York an appealing destination for many foreign tourists.

A report released by New York City tourism officials this month found that a record number of visitors came to New York City in 2007. More than 46 million people vacationed in the "Big Apple," spending around $28 billion last year.

 

NYC & Company, the tourism arm of the city's government, says total foreign travel to rose about 20 percent in 2007.

Many foreign tourists chose to visit New York - the most expensive U.S. city - because the weakened dollar made hotels, food and entertainment more affordable¹.

Christopher Heywood, the Director of Travel and Media Relations for NYC & Company, said Europeans are at a special advantage.

"We've seen a tremendous momentum² from European markets as a result of the weak dollar," he said. "We've seen a particular increase in markets like the U.K., which saw a 25 percent increase in 2007, and Spain which saw an increase of about 37 percent and Italy which went up 36 percent."

Heywood says foreign tourists are especially important to New York City's tourism market because they stay in the city for longer and spend more money than the average American tourist.

 

"Shopping is one of the big drivers of tourism to New York City," he explained. "Europeans are literally³ coming here with one suitcase and leaving with two or three. They are getting considerable savings⁴ here. And, they are buying up major U.S. brands. They are frequenting stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, they are going to buy Tiffany's jewelry⁵, Levis jeans, Apple iPods."

Tourism is one of New York's most important industries. But, visitors to the city fell off after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In recent years, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been actively⁶ trying to draw visitors back to the city. A global promotional campaign called "This Is New York City," says New York is safer, cleaner and more vibrant⁷.

Meantime, NYC & Company, added nine international offices in 2007, including offices in Russia, China, South Korean and Brazil. Heywood says there are now 16 tourism offices around the world.

"New York City has always been one of the most appealing destinations around the world. It's a global destination," he said. "It's almost a rite⁸ of passage for international travelers when they are coming to the U.S to come to New York City."

Visitors from the Britain made up the greatest percentage of foreign travelers to New York last year, followed by Canadians and Germans.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

8 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。