双语新闻：外国游客成为欧洲旅游业“救星”
Foreign Visits Rise Amid Europe's DownturnIt is hard to see the euro-zone crisis from the top of the EiffelTower these days: There are too many foreign tourists blockingthe view.
While many Europeans have cut back on vacations this year, one part of the tourist economy has held up better against theregion's economic slump: Foreign visitors are still flocking tomany hot spots, helping to offset declines among homegrown travelers, and funneling much-needed revenue to local economies.
Drawn in part by attractive deals and a weaker euro, visitors from faster-growing Asian and LatinAmerican economies account for an increasing share of tourism in several European countries, according to industry and government data, helping to drive tourism growth and cushion the blowfrom the protracted sovereign-debt crisis.
'In Russia, the economy's good, so we can travel wherever we want,' said Fedor Zotov, a 34-year-old government worker, as he clinked a Champagne glass with friends atop the Eiffel Tower onerecent afternoon.
The snaking, hourlong line more than 900 feet below Mr. Zotov tells a story that is being repeatedacross Europe. Madrid's Prado Museum said it expects to match the 'record' number of visits it hadlast year, as did Antoni Gaudi's architectural wonder in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia. In Sicily, a 12% jump in hotel stays by foreign tourists in July and August helped to make up for a 5% decline among Italians.
These positive indicators contrast starkly with the economic situation across much of Europe, withmany countries either stagnating or stuck in recession. Uncertainty has pushed businesses inFrance, Spain, Italy and Greece to cut investment and slash jobs. Rising unemployment has forcedconsumers to cut back on spending, deepening the cycle.
As a result, many Europeans are staying put. A sharp decline in Italians vacationing drove downthe country's hotel occupancy last month from August 2011 for the first time since at least the 1960s, said Federalberghi, a national association of hotels and tourist businesses.
French tourists took 10% fewer vacations in July and planned to take 4.2% fewer vacations inAugust than they did in August 2011, according to the latest data from the country's tourismministry.
But foreign travelers are arriving in greater numbers than last year to many countries. A record 7.7 million international tourists hit Spain in July, up 4.4% from a year earlier, according to governmentdata. In France, vacation nights ticked up 2.2% among foreigners, despite a 2.8% decline amongFrench people, the tourism ministry said.
While some of those tourists are from better-off parts of Europe, many are coming from far afield. In France, hotel stays by Chinese tourists grew nearly 15% in July from a year earlier. In the Parisregion alone, Brazilian and Chinese tourists accounted for 13% of overnight stays from foreigntourists in July, the French tourism ministry said.
这些日子，很难从埃菲尔铁塔塔顶看到欧元区经济危机的迹象：有太多外国游客挡住了视线。
虽然许多欧洲人缩短了今年的假期，但欧洲旅游业也有在经济衰退中逆势而涨的一方面：许多旅游热点的外国游客仍然络绎不绝，这有助于抵消本土游客的下降，并向当地经济输送亟需的收入。
根据行业和政府数据，在多个欧洲国家中，来自经济快速增长的亚洲和南美地区的游客占比越来越多，他们部分是被诱人商品和欧元贬值所吸引，这有助于促进旅游业增长，也缓冲了旷日持久的主权债务危机的冲击。
最近一天下午，34岁的俄罗斯政府工作人员费多尔 佐托夫（Fedor Zotov）在埃菲尔铁塔顶上一边与朋友碰杯一边说道，“俄罗斯的经济情况很好，因此我们想去哪儿旅游都可以。”
在佐托夫脚下900多英尺，是一条排了一小时的蜿蜒人龙，这样的场景在欧洲屡见不鲜。马德里的普拉多博物馆（Prado Museum）称，今年的参观人数有望与去年的“创纪录”人数持平，安东尼 高迪（Antoni Gaudi）在巴塞罗那的建筑奇迹圣家族教堂（Sagrada Familia）也是如此。在西西里岛（Sicily），7月和8月的外国游客酒店住宿人数暴涨12%，这有助于弥补意大利本国游客数下降5%的影响。
这些正面指标与欧洲许多地区的经济情况形成鲜明对比──很多国家的经济要么停滞不前，要么陷入衰退。不确定性迫使法国、西班牙、意大利和希腊的企业削减投资和裁员。失业率上升迫使消费者削减支出，加深了经济危机。
因此，许多欧洲人闭门不出。意大利国家酒店与旅游企业协会Federalberghi称，上个月，意大利本国游客人数的急剧下降使该国的酒店入住率低于2011年8月的水平，这种情况至少是20世纪60年代以来首次出现。
根据法国旅游部的最新数据，今年7月，法国本国游客的度假数量下降10%，8月的计划度假数量比2011年8月少了4.2%。
但去年许多国家的外国游客人数都有所增加。根据政府数据，今年7月，西班牙的外国游客达到了创纪录的770万人，比一年前提高了4.4%。法国旅游部称，尽管法国的本国游客住宿人数降低了2.8%，但外国游客住宿人数增加了2.2%。
有些游客来自欧洲富裕国家，还有许多游客则来自远方。在法国，7月份中国游客的酒店住宿人数比一年前增长了近15%。法国旅游部称，仅巴黎地区，巴西和中国游客就占7月份外国游客住宿人数的13%。
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