| Although widely-known as a gambling city, Macao is also rich in cultural heritage, according to a tourism official in Macao. |
据澳门旅游业官员介绍，澳门不仅仅是一座以赌博业闻名世界的城市，还拥有丰富的文化遗产。 |
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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，中国网独家采访了澳门旅游商会会长陈志杰，他说：“澳门有400多年的历史，中西文化在这里碰撞、融合，它的文化遗产十分丰富。” |
| 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. |
十六世纪上半叶早期，葡萄牙商人来到澳门定居，将这座城市变为一个东西方文化交汇的十字路口。在这里，你可以看到来自世界各地的宗教、习俗、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. |
同时，澳门还通过举办龙舟赛、烟火表演、音乐节和艺术节等各种文化活动吸引游客。 |
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." |
陈会长介绍，澳门也是一个购物的好地方。“任何地方的人都可以在这里满足他们不同的购物欲。这里既有廉价的珠宝、本地小吃和化妆品，也有许多国际一线品牌。比如LV就已经在澳门开了旗舰店。”他说，“澳门将逐步发展成一座购物天堂。” |
| 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." |
现在游客在澳门平均仅逗留1.3天，平均消费1500至2000港币。陈会长说：“如果想深入了解这座城市，你就不能只呆1、2天。有些游客在澳门停留了5天，独特的文化和习俗让他们玩得很开心。” |
| Chen believes that Macao's tourism administration and tourism industry need to do more to promote the cultural aspect of Macao. |
此外，陈会长认为澳门旅游部门和旅游业应该加大推广澳门文化的力度。 |
| 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. |
他说，澳门需要进一步吸引来自不同地区的游客。去年约有2090万游客来澳，其中外国人占14.5%，比起2003年 的不到5%有了巨大提升。陈会长建议澳门政府开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，抵澳游客数比去年同期下降了7.8%。陈会长认为这与目前的金融危机以及甲流有关。 |
| 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，澳门特别行政区政府开始采取措施振兴不景气的旅游业，游客数从8月份开始上升，9月和10月的游客数已经超过去年同期水平。 |
| Chen is optimistic about Macao's future tourism development as the region develops a diversified economy. |
陈会长相信，随着澳门地区经济的多样化发展，澳门旅游业的明天会更好。
（China.org.cn 任仲希 译） |
