1、1“TOURISM CULTURE OF SRI LANKA IN THE POST CONFLICT ERA”Address by HE Karunatilaka Amunugama, Ambassador of Sri Lanka at the 6th International Tourism and Cultural Promotion Conference in Chengdu, SichuanExcellencies,Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,I consider it a great privilege to have b
2、een invited to address the 6th International Tourism and Cultural Promotion Conference convened under the auspices of the 10th Western China International Economy & Trade Fair in this beautiful capital city of Chengdu in the Sichuan Province. I thank the organizers of the Forum for their kind gestur
3、e. 尊敬的来宾，女士们，先生们：很荣幸在四川成都举办的第六届国际旅游文化推介会上致词，我衷心地感谢主办方的盛情邀请。Ladies and Gentlemen,During my address before this august Forum, I wish to explain how Sri Lanka is creating space for the economic and social development of our country and people through promotion of tourism in this post conflict era.女士们，先
4、生们。在此盛会开始之前，我将向大家介绍在这个后冲突时代，斯里兰卡是怎么通过发展旅游业来为国民经济和社会发展创造良好空间的.As you all know, peace has dawned on Sri Lanka after three decades. Terrorism that has kept the people from enjoying their full potential has finally been eliminated from the Island. Post-conflict, Sri Lanka & the tourism industry in parti
5、cular, is rapidly moving ahead positively. The peace calls for renewed interest in our island not only among international investors, who are looking for opportunities to earn profits in a secure and stable business environment, but also the tourists who are seeking to explore vibrant cultures and s
6、pectacular environs of Sri Lanka. 众所周之,三十年之后, 斯里兰卡终于迎来了和平. 恐怖主义曾一度阻碍人们充分发挥其自身的潜力,但最后终于土崩瓦解。在后冲突时代，特别是斯里兰卡的旅游产业，积极地2朝前飞速发展。对于国家和平的强烈的要求再次兴起，不管是希望在一个安全稳定的商业投资环境中寻求利润的国际投资者，还是想探索斯里兰卡充满活力的文化的游客们，他们都渴望着这种和平。In the wake of peace and stability in the Island, Sri Lanka has now launched a massive tourism dri
7、ve in all parts of the world. This mainly includes the generating of global media exposure for Sri Lanka and capitalizing the heightened international awareness of the island nation in the post-conflict era to publicize the countrys top class hospitality industry, natural, cultural and sporting attr
8、actions and many more. As a result, tourist arrivals from European markets have recorded a significant increase for the month of August. Tourist arrivals from France have gone up by nearly 109 percent, Germany up by 71 percent and Switzerland nearly 91 percent. The Middle Eastern and Indian markets
9、also have registered 28 and 51 percent increases respectively. 和平稳定之后，斯里兰卡在世界各地的推动下，开始大规模地发展旅游业。主要包括斯里兰卡在全球媒体的宣传和高度的国际化意识促使在后冲突时代积极宣传其国家的顶级酒店业，自然、文化、体育亮点等等。因此，来自欧洲的游客增长在八月创下了历史新高， 法国的游客量上涨 109%，德国游客量增加 71%，瑞士游客增量高达 91%，此外，中东和印度游客分别上涨 21%和 58%。According to the World Tourism Organisation, tourism is a
10、n industry that generates three billion dollars per day globally, and one out of twelve people around the world are employed in this industry. The tourism industry is Sri Lankas fourth largest foreign exchange earner. Potentially, tourism can and will become Sri Lankas largest industry and employer.
11、 Four decades ago, Sri Lankas tourism culture was virtually centred on Western countries and it was predominantly based upon sun, sea and sand. Today, however, there is a larger, more diversified and sophisticated group of tourists from a wider range of countries interested in seeing new places and
12、exploring new things. 据世界旅游组织统计，全球旅游业每天能创造30 亿美元经济价值，在全球范围内，平均 12 个人中就有 1 个人从事旅游行业。旅游业收入是斯里兰卡的第四大外汇来源，并且有望发展成斯里兰卡的龙头产业。事实上，40 年前，斯里兰卡的旅游文化集中在西方国家并且主要依靠“阳光，海岸和沙滩”来吸引游客。如今，来自五湖四海的旅游团前来观光，而他们感兴趣的恰恰是参观新的地方，探求新鲜的事物。3Sri Lanka is one of the few countries that can boast of a multitude of varied attractions
13、 within a very compact area. Moving from the beach outwards, we have our coral reefs, offshore whale and dolphin populations, and a potential range of water sports such as sailing and paragliding. Inland, we have rain forests, mountains, wild life parks and nature reserves, tea gardens, great shoppi
14、ng opportunities, not to mention important archaeological and historical sites dating from ancient to more modern times. 斯里兰卡是为数不多的领土狭小但风光无限的国家之一，这也是它引以为荣的地方。顺着海岸向外延展，你可以看到珊瑚礁，近海鲸，海豚群，还可以感受许多像帆船，滑翔降落伞一类的水上运动；在内陆地区，我们有雨林，高山，野生公园，自然保护区，茶叶种植园，大型购物中心以及古往今来相当重要的历史考古遗址。Sri Lanka, although small, boasts of
15、 seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among them, six cultural sites are testament to a great civilization of over 2500 years while a seventh natural site, the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a virgin tropical rainforest, boasts some of the highest biodiversity found out of the Amazon basin. As you step in
16、to the country, you will be able to experience unique customs and traditions deeply ingrained in Sri Lankan society which have been safeguarded from one generation to the next. Increasingly, tourists are looking for more specialised tourism experiences such as heritage, lifestyle, religious, cultura
17、l, adventure, and pilgrimage-based holidays, to name a few. Sri Lanka has the potential to offer all of these. Having very good air connectivity from all major cities in the world, Sri Lanka can even be considered as a weekend destination. 尽管国土面积很小，斯里兰卡却相当自豪，因为它拥有 7 个由联合国教科文组织鉴定的世界文化遗址。其中，有六个都是经过 25
18、00 多年的文明沉淀下来的，而另一个自然遗址辛哈拉加森林保护区，是一片原始的热带雨林。在那里，人们可以见识到源自亚马逊盆地的生物高度的多元化。身处该国，你将切身体会到斯里兰卡民族世代捍卫的独特传统和文化习俗。现在，越来越多的游客极力寻求更加细化的旅游经历，比如传统文化，生活方式，宗教信仰，文化内涵，冒险经历，朝圣之旅等等。所有这些要求在斯里兰卡都可以得到满足。凭借着与全世界主要城市都建立了良好的空中航线优势，斯里兰卡不失为周末旅游的好去处。The Government of Sri Lanka, together with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau
19、work very closely with the stake holders and the service providers of the tourism industry in Sri Lanka in building capacity and in setting up viable and sustainable institutions. The Ministry of 4Tourism of Sri Lanka works towards building a partnership between the two very important pillars of the
20、 tourism industry, the public sector and the private sector. The public sector sets the strategy whereas the private sector delivers the services. The Government also plays a very vital role by putting forward wise policies and building necessary infrastructure which will result in an environment wh
21、ich fosters tourism growth, which in the end, would create more employment opportunities for our people. 斯里兰卡政府和斯里兰卡旅游促进会与旅游业的股东、服务供应商密切合作，旨在建立一个可持续的体系。斯里兰卡旅游局努力建立起与旅游业两大顶梁柱之间的合作，即与公共部门和私营部门间的合作。公共部门制定策略而私营部站提供服务。与此同时，政府也发挥着至关重要的作用，制定明智的政策并设立必须的设施为丰富旅游业提供良好的环境，最终为人们提供更多的就业机会。As with all other nation
22、s in the world, Sri Lankas tourism industry too is facing the formidable challenges posed due to the International Financial Crisis. As we know, tourism is especially vulnerable to economic uncertainty and volatility for the simple reason that most travel involves discretionary expense. Potential to
23、urists are being more cautious in their holiday bookings and many hotels and airlines around the world are cutting prices drastically. However, this does not mean that tourism stops. The trend that we have learned from past economic crises is that people continue to travel but they will travel diffe
24、rently from the way they do during times of economic buoyancy. Those tourism and hospitality businesses which will survive and indeed thrive in times of financial crises are those which can adapt to the current situation.和其他国家一样，由于国际金融危机的影响，斯里兰卡的旅游业也同样面临着艰难的挑战。众所周知，旅游业面对经济的不确定性及波动都是很脆弱的。理由很简单，大多数旅行都
25、涉及随意消费。将要去旅行的人们对于假期的安排都是很谨慎的。全世界的旅馆和航空公司的价格都在急剧下降。然而，这并不意味着旅游业会停滞。从过去的经济危机我们可以得知有这样一种趋势：人们仍然会旅游，但是他们的旅行会与在经济繁荣期间的旅行有所不同。那些能够适应当前形势的旅游业和酒店业务将能够在金融危机这个时候幸存并兴旺起来。Taking this in to consideration, Sri Lanka is focused on making most of the bleak situation created by the International Financial Crisis by
26、attracting more tourists with value-for-money holidays. The top-notch hospitality industry of Sri Lanka is aimed at providing world class service to the inbound tourists with more value-addition and budget packages, thereby 5attracting more travelers who would have travelled to some Western Destinat
27、ion if not for the global recession.We also focus on niche products such as eco-tourism, Ayurveda & Spa tourism, youth travel, wedding and honeymoon tourism, adventure tourism, MICE tourism and gastronomic tourism. 综合考虑，斯里兰卡将重点放在充分利用受金融影响的萧条景象上，通过提供一种超值的假期来吸引更多的游客。斯里兰卡顶尖酒店行业的目的在于利用附加值和预算方案为入境游客提供世界级
28、服务。我们同时也把重点放在小众产品上，例如生态旅游、阿输吠陀 SPA，青年旅行、婚礼和蜜月旅行，旅行探险和美食旅游。Given the challenges posed by the present financial crisis, we believe that the time has come for all of us in Asia to cooperate with each other in promoting tourism collectively as one region. We share many common historical and cultural tra
29、its. Our people can relate to each other closely. By working together towards a common goal and through stronger connectivity, we will be able to promote tourism in our region in a mutually beneficial manner. In this context, may I suggest this august gathering, to join hands in promoting Asia as on
30、e region, one destination to take advantage of the current global situation. 面临着现在金融危机造成的挑战，我们相信是时候让我们亚洲国家聚集起来形成一个整体，彼此合作来促进各国旅游业发展。我们拥有着共同的历史和文化特征。我们各国人民能够相互紧密地联系起来。为了共同的目标，通过共同的努力和更有力的连接，相信我们能够在互惠互利的方式下促进我们地区的旅游业发展。鉴此，我建议以本届盛会为契机，大家携手共进，充分利用有利的国际形势，把整个全亚洲的旅游作为一个整体来加以推广。In conclusion may I request
31、the guests of the 6th International Tourism and Cultural Promotion Conference, business personalities and key policy makers to consider Sri Lanka as a favored destination for tourism particularly in the present International Financial Crisis. I welcome you to explore the splendor of what Sri Lanka has to offer.Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your patience and attention.最后，我请求在座的各位嘉宾、商界人士和关键决策者把斯里兰卡当作是理想的旅游目的地，尽管我们还面临着国际金融危机的挑战。热烈欢迎您的光临！非常感谢大家！
