Travel slump hits tsunami areas	东南亚旅游业经历新一轮大滑坡
beautiful Sri Lanka Travel and tourism spending in countries hit by the December 26 tsunami is experiencing a renewed slump, after an initial recovery two months ago. The economies of the areas that were hit still remain fragile and are likely to take a lot longer to recover, according to fresh data from credit card firm Visa International. Spending by cardholders fell in April and May in Phuket, Maldives and Sri Lanka compared to last year -- all destinations that were hit by massive waves that killed an estimated 273,800 people and left thousands missing. The drop in spending coincided with the earthquake on the Indonesian island of Nias on March 28 and the resurgence in tsunami fears. Travel industry experts at a recent World Tourism Organization (WTO) conference in Bali also concluded that the recent spending slump corresponded with a drop in media coverage and interest in the affected areas. Figures released at the conference showed that credit card spending at Phuket in the week ending May 8 was 37 percent lower than the same week in 2004, despite being up by six percent in March. A similar picture occurred in the Maldives, where a recovery between February and March was followed by a 35 percent year-on-year decline in May. "We found that $3 billion is likely to be lost from the tourism industry in the region -- but that is turning out to be a conservative estimate," James Murray, Visa's executive vice-president for Southeast Asia, told the conference. According to a Visa survey conducted in March, travelers are still concerned about health and safety, as well as the state of the infrastructure in the affected areas. "Tourists need more information about the impact the tsunami has had on tourist facilities," said former U.S. president and special U.N. envoy Bill Clinton in a video message to the WTO conference. Tourism experts at the conference likened the impact of the tsunami to other problems that have hit the region, such as the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the Bali bombing of 2002. The travel industry took months to recover from both of those tragedies. According to data from Visa, the Indonesian island of Bali has shown 18 consecutive months of positive growth in credit card spending since November 2003. (Agencies)	去年12月26日在东南亚爆发的海啸使当地的旅游业严重受挫。两个月前，该地区的旅游业刚刚有所回升，而如今，这些国家的旅游业正经历新一轮的滑坡。 威士国际信用卡公司的最新统计数据显示，遭受海啸袭击的东南亚地区的经济仍然十分脆弱，可能需要更长时间才能恢复正常。 与去年同期相比，信用卡持卡人今年四、五月份在普吉岛、马尔代夫群岛和斯里兰卡的消费有所下跌。这些度假圣地都遭受了海啸袭击，约27.38万人在海啸中丧生，数千人失踪。 今年3月28日在印尼尼亚斯岛发生的地震再次引发了人们对海啸的恐惧，导致旅游消费再次下降。 近期在巴厘岛举行的世界旅游组织大会上，旅游业专家们推断：该地区最近的旅游消费下跌与媒体对受海啸影响地区的报道和关注减少有关。 世界旅游组织大会发布的数据显示：5月2日到8日一周间，普吉岛的信用卡消费比去年同期降低了37%，尽管3月份曾一度上升了6个百分点。 马尔代夫群岛也出现了类似的情况，今年2月和3月旅游业曾一度好转，然而5月份与去年同期相比下降了35％。 威士公司东南亚地区执行副总裁詹姆士·默里在会上表示：“该地区旅游业的损失达30亿美元，而那只是保守的估计。” 威士公司3月份的一项调查显示，旅游者仍然对该受灾地区的卫生、安全和基础设施状况表示担忧。 美国前总统、联合国特使比尔·克林顿通过视频信息在世界旅游组织大会上说：“游客们需要更多信息来了解海啸对旅游设施的影响。” 与会专家把海啸的影响和发生在该地区的其他问题联系起来，例如2003年爆发的SARS和2002年的巴厘岛爆炸事件。该地区的旅游业花了数月时间才从上述两次悲剧中恢复过来。 根据威士公司提供的数据，自2003年11月以来，印尼巴厘岛已经连续18个月信用卡消费保持持续增长。 （中国日报网站译）