【纽约时报 110921】美国是怎样把旅游者拒之门外的
【中文标题】美国是怎样把旅游者拒之门外的
【原文标题】How America Turns Travelers Away
【登载媒体】纽约时报
【原文作者】GARY SHAPIRO
【原文链接】http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/opinion/22iht-edshapiro22.html?_r=1&ref=china
如果你在想，美国怎么会错失攫取亚洲财富的机会，那么首先，你要看看法国是怎么做的。
在巴黎的卢浮宫附近，坐落着著名的法国商店——老佛爷。载着中国游客的大巴车频繁光顾这里，商店不得不雇用会讲中文的店员。据商店员工提供的信息，400名销售人员中的一半都会讲中文，中国游客是这里最大的消费群体（美国人排在俄罗斯人、欧洲人和阿拉伯人之后，位列第5）。平均每名中国游客在店内消费超过5000欧元（7000美元）。
其它巴黎商店也都被中国人的现金淹没。在我最近一次到巴黎旅行时，我妻子亲眼见到老佛爷附近的一家路易威登商店门口排起的长队。店家不得不用绒丝带来管理疯狂购物的中国人群。
与此同时，美国是用什么方法来吸引这些富有的中国人的呢？一个希望进入美国的中国公民首先必须获得签证，这是一个艰难、昂贵、麻烦的过程。首先，申请人必须支付140美元的申请费，并购买一张预付费的电话卡来预约签证。下一步是在网上填写冗长的申请表，而且是用英文。在等待了2到100天之后，申请人必须亲自到美国领事馆，携带财务、家庭和商业文件，等排队等上两三个小时，仅仅是为了与美国签证官做三到五分钟的面试。面试之后，申请人要等待通知。如果被核发签证，申请人才可以前往美国。
在这种情况下，我们要怀疑会不会有中国人愿意到美国去。同样限制性的流程也适用于巴西人和印度人。实际上，美国的政策让这些寻求用合法方式进入美国的人花费掉自己辛苦的积蓄，这绝对是荒唐的。当我们依然坚持为跨国旅游设置障碍时，其它国家——比如法国——则在笑逐颜开地收获大笔外汇。
现实是，美国正在损失国际旅游的市场份额。据美国旅游协会提供的信息，从2000年到2010年，全球长途旅游者的数量增加了6000万人。在同一时间段内，美国的海外游客数量几乎没有增长。这绝对是我们应当关注的一个问题。2010年，旅游业为美国提供了180万个就业岗位，收入达到1340亿美元，远远超过商业、专业服务、电脑、电子和汽车出口业的收入。如果我们继续保持目前的签证制度，让游客必须越过重重障碍才能到美国消费，那么我们就无法继续在国际旅游市场上保持竞争优势。要知道，在今后10年中，这块蛋糕将达到2.1万亿美元的规模。
这还仅仅是针对希望到美国参观的外国人。我们糟糕的签证制度实际上体现了更加糟糕的移民制度，这种制度的代价是我们无法张开怀抱迎接优秀的外国人到美国来复兴我们的创新经济。中国是生产制造业的大本营，越来越多的世界富翁在那里扎根。实际上，中国百万富翁数量仅在去年就增加了9.7％，目前有将近100万个人资产超过150万美元的中国人。
如果我们的政府和商业制度继续忽视我们已经开始下滑的市场份额，我们国家的经济下落驱使会更加明显。
原文：
If you wonder how the United States is missing opportunities from the explosion in Asian wealth, consider, first, how the French are capturing this money.
Near the Louvre in Paris sits the famous French store, the Galeries Lafayette. Chinese tourist buses pull up frequently, and the store has responded by hiring employees who speak Chinese. According to store personnel, half of their 400 sales employees speak Chinese and Chinese tourists make up the largest segment of its customer base. (Americans rank fifth behind Russians, other Europeans and Arabs.) The average Chinese tourist at the store spends over €5,000 (nearly $7,000).
Other Parisian retailers are also scooping up Chinese cash. On a recent trip to Paris, my wife witnessed a line outside the Louis Vuitton store near the Galeries Lafayette. The store has started using a velvet rope to manage the mostly Chinese crowds wanting to shop there.
Meanwhile, what does the United States do to attract these wealthy Chinese? A Chinese citizen seeking to enter the United States must first get a visa, which is a very difficult, expensive and cumbersome process. First, an applicant pays a $140 application fee and buys a pre-paid phone card he or she must use to schedule a visa appointment. The next step is to complete a lengthy online application — in English. After waiting anywhere from 2 to 100 days, the applicant must travel to a U.S. consulate with complete financial, family and business records only to wait in line for two to three hours for an interview with a U.S. official that lasts three to five minutes. After the interview he or she will be informed about the visa. If the visa is granted, the applicant can then travel to the United States.
It’s a wonder any Chinese come to the United States at all. The process is similarly restrictive for Brazilians and Indians too. Indeed, U.S. policy toward those seeking — legally — to come to the United States and spend their hard-earned money is beyond ludicrous. While we Americans refuse to take down obstacles to easy travel, other nations — like France — are more than happy to accept foreign cash.
The fact is the United States is losing market share in international travel. The number of global long-haul travelers increased by more than 60 million from 2000 to 2010, according to the U.S. Travel Association. During the same period, the number of overseas visitors to the United States remained flat. It’s a market we should be focused on expanding. In 2010, travel supported 1.8 million jobs in the U.S. and accounted for $134 billion in spending, more than business and professional services, computers and electronics, or automobile exports. We can’t expect to continue competing for international travel — which is expected to double over the next decade and reach $2.1 trillion — if we maintain visa policies that require would-be visitors to jump through so many hoops before spending their money in the United States.
And that’s just for foreign nationals who want to visit America. Our broken visa system is a symptom of an utterly broken immigration system that is designed to keep people out at the cost of welcoming foreign nationals who could contribute to America’s innovation-fueled comeback. China is the go-to nation for production and manufacturing and is home to an increasing number of the world's millionaires. In fact, the number of Chinese millionaires has increased by 9.7 percent in the last year and nearly 1 million Chinese have personal wealth of more than $1.5 million.
If our government and our businesses don’t deal with our declining market position, our national decline will accelerate.
Other Parisian retailers are also scooping up Chinese cash. On a recent trip to Paris, my wife witnessed a line outside the Louis Vuitton store near the Galeries Lafayette. The store has started using a velvet rope to manage the mostly Chinese crowds wanting to shop there。不靠谱啊 哈哈，反正我出去旅游的话，美国还不知道排第几位呢。。。;P 如果去美国的签证容易的话,恐怕本土炸弹也多了,坏事做得太多了啊 美国正在损失国际旅游的市场份额。据美国旅游协会提供的信息，从2000年到2010年，全球长途旅游者的数量增加了6000万人。在同一时间段内，美国的海外游客数量几乎没有增长。这绝对是我们应当关注的一个问题。2010年，旅游业为美国提供了180万个就业岗位，收入达到1340亿美元，远远超过商业、专业服务、电脑、电子和汽车出口业的收入。如果我们继续保持目前的签证制度，让游客必须越过重重障碍才能到美国消费，那么我们就无法继续在国际旅游市场上保持竞争优势。要知道，在今后10年中，这块蛋糕将达到2.1万亿美元的规模。
糟糕的签证制度实际上体现了更加糟糕的移民制度 我觉得糟糕的不是签证制度而是越来越严格的安检程序吧？有几个人又愿意特地大老远飞到美国去留指纹被搜身接受X光扫射呢？？ 美国的移民制度只欢迎最优秀的人，例如凤姐 哦，对了，还有能够将世界文明程度迅速提升10000倍的轮子。 whyjfs 发表于 2011-10-12 07:15 static/image/common/back.gif
美国的移民制度只欢迎最优秀的人，例如凤姐
凤姐真有美国绿卡了？ cswanchang 发表于 2011-10-11 11:36 static/image/common/back.gif
Other Parisian retailers are also scooping up Chinese cash. On a recent trip to Paris, my wife witne ...
靠谱的是什么呢？ coldwarj 发表于 2011-10-12 08:21 static/image/common/back.gif
凤姐真有美国绿卡了？
不知道呢……上次看到她得消息是说用旅游签证还是啥签证的跑美国去，然后就在美分党总部活动中看到她了，接下来估计是会申请政治避难啥的，但是后来就美消息了，反正也不关心。
然后前段时间听说她在美国商场干售卖员？还是在哪里，忘记了，没啥兴趣…… shuishenlan 发表于 2011-10-12 09:13 static/image/common/back.gif
不知道呢……上次看到她得消息是说用旅游签证还是啥签证的跑美国去，然后就在美分党总部活动中看到她了， ...
据说做了美甲师 http://huwai.us/images/bbssmile.gif支持一下！！呵呵 对老是去国外扫货的人也实在无语 沫☆北 发表于 2011-10-14 12:55 static/image/common/back.gif
对老是去国外扫货的人也实在无语
面子使然， 其实自己用得了多少， 都是回国后送人的。
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