泰国对中国等国游客上调落地签证费

 　　Deadly bomb blasts in Thai tourist resort areas have failed to deter¹ the country’s military rulers from raising entry fees for holidaymakers from 19 countries and territories, including China.

　　泰国旅游度假区发生的致命炸弹爆炸事件未能阻止该国军事统治者对来自19个国家和地区（包括中国）的游客上调签证费。

　　The decision to press ahead with plans to double visa-on-arrival costs to 2,000 baht ($58) has generated mixed reviews, with some commentators² arguing it will undermine efforts to shore up confidence in a rare growth industry in the stuttering economy.

　　按计划把落地签证费翻倍至2000泰铢（合58美元）的决定，引发了褒贬不一的评论，有些评论人士提出，旅游是泰国增长乏力的经济中一个难得的成长型行业，而此举将破坏提振对该行业信心的努力。

　　The tariff³ changes widen the disparity between Chinese holidaymakers and western counterparts who can still visit for free, even though the doubling of Thailand’s tourist numbers in six years has been driven by China.

　　上调签证费将扩大中国游客与仍可免费入境的西方游客之间的差距，尽管赴泰国的游客人数在六年内翻一番是由中国这个客源国推动的。

　　The higher charges appear to reflect official ambivalence⁴ in Bangkok towards a sector⁵ that has delivered income during political turbulence⁶ but is putting increasing strain on infrastructure⁷.

　　上调费用似乎反映了泰国官方对旅游业的矛盾心理，该行业在泰国政治动荡时期带来了收入，但正给基础设施带来越来越大的压力。

　　Chanapan Klaewklachyawut, secretary-general of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association, said: “This extra charge is not much for Chinese tourists.

　　泰中旅游同业公会(Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association)秘书长Chanapan Klaewklachyawut表示：“这笔额外费用对中国游客不算多。

　　If they can’t even afford this amount, how will they have enough money to spend on travelling in Thailand?”

　　如果他们连这笔钱都负担不起，他们在泰国旅游期间还会有足够的钱花销吗？”

　　The Thai government announced last week that the new charges would come into force next month, weeks after bomb attacks across tourist resorts in south Thailand killed four people and wounded dozens more, some of them foreigners.

　　泰国政府上周宣布，新的签证费标准将在下月生效实施。就在几周前，泰国南方的几个旅游度假胜地遭遇多起炸弹袭击，导致4人遇难，数十人受伤，其中一些是外国人。

　　The fees lift Thailand out of the bracket of visas-on-arrival for $40 or less charged by other Southeast Asian holiday-maker destinations, such as Cambodia and Indonesia.

　　上调签证费使泰国退出了东南亚收取40美元或以下落地签证费（如柬埔寨和印尼）的旅游国家行列。

　　Some Thai commentators have questioned both the decision to raise the prices and the timing⁸ of the announcement, which follow approval by the military-dominated cabinet earlier this year.

　　泰国一些评论人士质疑提高签证费的决定，也质疑宣布这一决定的时机，此前军方主导的内阁在今年早些时候批准了此举。

　　The Bangkok Post newspaper this week condemned⁹ the “outrageous” change as “out of sync with every other current tourist policy”, particularly as Taiwan, one of the other territories affected¹⁰, has just scrapped¹¹ its visa requirement for Thai tourists.

　　《曼谷邮报》(Bangkok Post)本周谴责这一“离谱”的变动，称其“与其它每一项现行旅游政策不合拍”，尤其是台湾这个受影响的地区之一刚刚取消了针对泰国游客的签证要求。

　　The increases are particularly striking because China has provided almost half the more than 15m extra arrivals that have lifted Thailand’s foreign tourism visitor numbers from 14.15m in 2009 to 29.88m last year.

　　令签证费上涨格外引人注目的是，中国提供了过去六年逾1500万新增入境游客人数中的近一半，这些新增游客使泰国的外国游客人数从2009年的1415万人增至去年的2988万人。

　　The boom is apparent in the snaking queues at Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport for taxi ranks and at immigration desks that proclaim the official policy of “Good guys in, bad guys out”.

　　这种繁荣体现于曼谷廊曼机场(Don Mueang airport)出租车上车处和入境检查柜台的蛇形队列；泰国出入境部门宣称其官方政策是“好人进来，坏人出去”。

　　Some observers link the visa price rise to official efforts to attract more high-spending visitors and draw away from the cheaper — and seedier — elements of Thailand’s tourist success story.

　　一些观察人士把签证价格上涨与官方的一项努力联系起来，后者的目的是吸引更多高消费旅客，同时抑制泰国旅游业成功故事中一些比较廉价、比较粗俗的元素。

　　Photos and videos have surfaced alleging¹² various episodes of spitting and other bad mannered behaviour by Chinese tourists, who have flocked in particular to temples and other sites featured in a hugely popular 2012 road trip movie called Lost in Thailand.

　　近年流传的照片和视频据称记录了中国游客吐痰和其它不良行为。2012年出品的旅游电影《人再囧途之泰囧》(Lost in Thailand)票房极为成功，片中出现的泰国寺庙和其他景点如今挤满了中国游客。

　　Some tourism sector insiders argue the higher fees could even be a good thing, because they will help ease the congestion¹³ that rapid expansion has brought.

　　一些旅游业经营者认为，签证费上调甚至可能是一件好事，因为这将有助于缓解游客剧增所带来的拥堵。

1 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

2 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

4 ambivalence   

n.矛盾心理

参考例句：

• She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
• She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。

5 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

6 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

12 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

13 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。