VOA标准英语2010年-Washington DC Tourism Rebounds Despite

Tourism officials in Washington say the U.S. economic downturn is forcing  many Americans to scale back and even cancel their traditional vacation plans. But in the nation's capital, tourist visits are up.

International travelers are behind the surge in tourists visiting Washington, offsetting¹ a drop-off in the number of American tourists visiting the city.

"Overall our numbers are down less than five percent in terms of our domestic travelers to the Washington region," said Elliott Ferguson is president of Destination DC, the city's official tourism board."However, international travel continues to be the area we have the most amount of optimism."

Ferguson says hotel occupancy rates in Washington remained about the same through June - around 76 percent. But the latest available figures for types of visitors show that 1.4 million overseas travelers visited Washington last year - a nine percent increase over the year before, making the capital one of the top U.S. destinations for international visitors.

"Brazilians like coming to Washington to see and appreciate the monuments and the museums that are known around the world," said Brazilian tourist Raquel Soares. "There are also less visa requirements, making it easier for Brazilians to come to the U.S."

Matt Gaffney, president of Capital Region USA, a tourism marketing² firm, says the number of visitors from Brazil is up 29 percent.

"In years past we saw them [Brazilians] perhaps more oriented to Europe," he said. "They are now giving the U.S. a good strong look and they are choosing to come [to Washington] here just as much perhaps as going to Europe."

Other overseas tourists (excluding Canada and Mexico) coming to Washington in increasing numbers are from Britain, Germany, Australia, China and France.

"This is a great nation and by visiting Capitol Hill, I see how this nation was founded and where it originated," said Wen Yang from China, who was enjoying Washington with her family.

Tourism officials say the increased number of international visitors to the capital area offsets³ the number of Americans who have cut back on their travel plans due to the economy. Analysts⁴ say international tourists also spend more money than American travelers with an average stay of seven nights. In addition to food and lodging⁵, overseas travelers on average spend $2,000.

"The international market is the market that continues to grow the fastest," said Elliott Ferguson of Destination DC. "It is one of the smallest segments, but it is an extremely important segment just strictly⁶ from an economic prospective⁷. They tend to spend more, they stay longer and their currency is doing much better than the dollar right now. "

A video is a part of Destination DC's efforts to promote more international tourism by highlighting attractions, including Washington's many monuments, free museums and annual events such as the Cherry Blossom Festival and the Folklife Festival.

Tourism officials also have launched web sites to appeal to overseas visitors.

"Within two hours you can be in the Blue Ridge⁸ Mountains or sampling some Virginia or Maryland wine and a little further away is the beautiful Atlantic Ocean beaches," said Capital Region USA President Matt Gaffney.

Washington tourism officials say they expect the remainder of this year to be as good as the past year, with more international tourists visiting the nation's capital.

1 offsetting   

n.偏置法v.抵消( offset的现在分词 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• Dealers, having concluded a forward contract, should always hedge with an offsetting contract. 外汇经营商在签订了一项远期合同之后总是应进行套头交易签订一项相抵合同。 来自辞典例句
• Where does Germany think offsetting shifts into greater external deficits might occur? 在德国看来，这么大的外部赤字应该转移到哪里？ 来自互联网

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 offsets   

n.开端( offset的名词复数 )；出发v.抵消( offset的第三人称单数 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• The following paragraphs deal with intra-source offsets and the so-called \"bubble\" concept. 下面讨论污染源内部的补偿和所谓的“泡泡”概念。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The preceding paragraphs were concerned with inter-source offsets. 前文牵涉到污染源之间的补偿。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

8 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。