| Although widely-known as a gambling city, Macao is also rich in cultural heritage, according to a tourism official in Macao. |
據澳門旅游業官員介紹，澳門不僅僅是一座以賭博業聞名世界的城市，還擁有豐富的文化遺產。 |
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"Macao has been a place where the West meets the East for over 400 years and it has rich cultural heritage," Chen Zhijie, director of the Association of Macau Tourist Agents, told China.org.cn in an exclusive interview on December 6. |
12月6日，中國網獨家采訪了澳門旅游商會會長陳志杰，他說：“澳門有400多年的歷史，中西文化在這里碰撞、融合，它的文化遺產十分豐富。” |
| Portuguese traders settled in Macao in the early 1550s, making the city a perfect crossroad for the meeting of Eastern and Western cultures. Macao is home to a number of different religions and customs, a mixture of different styles of architectures as well as a great variety of food. |
十六世紀上半葉早期，葡萄牙商人來到澳門定居，將這座城市變為一個東西方文化交匯的十字路口。在這里，你可以看到來自世界各地的宗教、習俗、建筑和美食共存一城。 |
| Macao is also increasing its cultural appeal with events like dragon boat races, firework displays, and music and art festivals. |
同時，澳門還通過舉辦龍舟賽、煙火表演、音樂節和藝術節等各種文化活動吸引游客。 |
According to Chen, Macao is also a perfect place for shopping.
"Visitors from different areas can satisfy their varying shopping desires, either for price-competitive jewellery, local food or cosmetics. Some luxury brands like LV have opened flagship stores in Macao," he said. "Macao will gradually develop into a shopping paradise." |
陳會長介紹，澳門也是一個購物的好地方。“任何地方的人都可以在這里滿足他們不同的購物欲。這里既有廉價的珠寶、本地小吃和化妝品，也有許多國際一線品牌。比如LV就已經在澳門開了旗艦店。”他說，“澳門將逐步發展成一座購物天堂。” |
| Tourists spend an average of just 1.3 nights in Macao for each visit and spend 1,500 to 2,000 HKD for consumption there. According to Chen, "If you want to get a deeper understanding of Macao, you need more time (than just one or two days). He added "Some tourists, after touring Macao for five days, quite enjoy themselves in the unique culture and local customs." |
現在游客在澳門平均僅逗留1.3天，平均消費1500至2000港幣。陳會長說：“如果想深入了解這座城市，你就不能只呆1、2天。有些游客在澳門停留了5天，獨特的文化和習俗讓他們玩得很開心。” |
| Chen believes that Macao's tourism administration and tourism industry need to do more to promote the cultural aspect of Macao. |
此外，陳會長認為澳門旅游部門和旅游業應該加大推廣澳門文化的力度。 |
| Chen also explained that Macao needs to further diversify the sources of its tourists. About 20.9 million tourists visited Macao last year, foreign visitors accounted for 14.5 percent, a substantial increase from a figure of under 5 percent in 2003. Chen suggested the government open more direct flights to Macao from overseas cities to bring in more visitors from outside China. |
他說，澳門需要進一步吸引來自不同地區的游客。去年約有2090萬游客來澳，其中外國人占14.5%，比起2003年 的不到5%有了巨大提升。陳會長建議澳門政府開通更多海外的直航航班，增加境外游客。 |
| In the first 10 months of this year, tourist arrivals fell by 7.8 percent year on year. Chen believes this is partly due to the ongoing global financial crisis and A/H1N1 flu. |
今年1-10月，抵澳游客數比去年同期下降了7.8%。陳會長認為這與目前的金融危機以及甲流有關。 |
| The SAR government launched a program to revitalize its sliding tourism industry in May and visitor arrivals have begun to recover since August with the number of visitors for September and October exceeding that of last year. |
今年5月，澳門特別行政區政府開始采取措施振興不景氣的旅游業，游客數從8月份開始上升，9月和10月的游客數已經超過去年同期水平。 |
| Chen is optimistic about Macao's future tourism development as the region develops a diversified economy. |
陳會長相信，隨著澳門地區經濟的多樣化發展，澳門旅游業的明天會更好。
（China.org.cn 任仲希 譯） |
