Before all that, though, Mr Van der Meij found himself making a detour to Nepal because of complications with his Indian visa. When he did make it to India, the country ’s bureaucracy and heavy-handed airport security were off-putting, while the traffic and pollution were enough for him to decide against returning soon.
然而旅程伊始就遭遇波折——由于印度签证的繁琐程序，范德梅伊不得不绕道尼泊尔。真正入境后，繁文缛节的官僚体系、机场安检的严苛作风令人却步，加上混乱的交通与严重的污染，让他暗下决心短期内不会再来。
Mr Van der Meij is the sort of tourist most countries fight over: someone who is genuinely enthusiastic, visits for a long time, seeks to travel in comfort and is willing to splash out a bit. And India, with its 43 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, rich history, natural beauty and many delicious cuisines, should be a magnet for travellers.
这类游客本是各国争相招揽的优质客源：满怀探索热情、追求舒适旅程、乐于深度体验且消费能力不俗。坐拥43处联合国教科文遗产、悠久历史、壮美风光与多元美食的印度，理应成为旅行者趋之若鹜的目的地。
Yet the continent-sized country is an underachiever as a destination. Foreign tourist arrivals peaked in 2019 at 10.9m. That year Dubai (World Heritage Sites: zero) attracted 16.7m visitors. In the first half of 2024 Dubai’s numbers grew by 11% compared with 2019. India’s fell by 10%.
然而这个国土面积堪比大洲的国家，旅游业表现却远不及预期。2019年印度接待1090万国际游客的数字已是历史峰值，同年迪拜（世界遗产数量：零）吸引了1670万游客。2024年上半年，迪拜游客量较2019年增长11%，印度却下降10%。
Overseas tourism is booming around the world, but India is being left behind. Most countries see tourism as a valuable export industry that generates foreign exchange, taxes and employment. It contributes about a tenth of global GDP and accounts for one in ten jobs.
当全球旅游业强势复苏之际，印度正悄然掉队。多数国家视旅游业为重要创汇产业，能创造外汇、税收和就业岗位。其贡献着全球约十分之一的 GDP 与就业岗位。
Many countries in Asia and the Middle East—including places such as Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, which until recently were closed to tourists—are falling over themselves to make it easier for tourists to visit. Several have abolished or eased their visa regimes.
从乌兹别克斯坦到沙特阿拉伯（其中不乏近期才开放旅游的国家），越来越多亚洲及中东国家正简化签证政策以招徕游客。
反观印度，却在2023年关闭了仅存的海外旅游办事处，海外旅游推广预算从当年的10亿卢比（约合1200万美元）骤减三分之二至2024年的3.3亿卢比。
Though domestic travel is booming, tourism’s contribution to GDP declined from 5.8% in 2002-03 to 5.2% in 2019-20, according to the government’s figures. Rajiv Mehra, the president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, an industry group, complains that the government “thinks that India is such a destination that people will come running on their own”.
尽管国内游蓬勃发展，但官方数据显示旅游业对 GDP 的贡献率从2002-2003年的5.8%降至2019-2020年的5.2%。印度旅行社协会主席拉吉夫·梅赫拉直言政府存在认知误区："他们觉得印度魅力天成，游客自会蜂拥而至。"
Indeed, the government is targeting 100m annual foreign tourist arrivals by 2047. That implies an average growth rate of 15% every year, well above the 8.5% between 2001 and 2019. By then, it is possible that India will have tackled some of the big, chronic problems identified by Mr Van der Meij and which affect all Indians, not just visitors. But there are plenty of things the government could do immediately.
事实上，印度政府定下2047年实现年接待1亿国际游客的宏伟目标，这意味着年均增速需达15%——远超2001-2019年间8.5%的增长率。要实现这个目标，必须解决范德梅伊等游客遭遇的、也是长期困扰印度社会的痼疾。其实政府本可立即采取多项改进措施。
The most important is marketing. India needs “to be in the consideration set of tourists when they are choosing a destination”, says Pushan Sharma of CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, a research outfit. This includes traditional efforts such as advertising and attending trade fairs, but also inviting social-media influencers, who wield enormous clout among youngsters, to visit the country.
首要任务是重塑国家形象。研究机构 CRISIL 市场情报与分析部的普山·夏尔马指出："印度需要进入游客的目的地候选名单。"除传统广告投放与参加旅游展会外，更应借力社交媒体达人在年轻群体中的影响力。
Next, having intrigued travellers, India must make it easier for them to visit. To its credit, the government replaced the onerous process of applying for visas in person with online e-visas. But that was a decade ago and the process remains unpredictable and fiddly; it requires using a website that looks like it was designed during the dot-com boom. Most countries in South-East Asia and the Middle East have slicker sites. Many offer either visas on arrival or visa-free entry.
其次需优化入境流程。尽管十年前推出的电子签证系统取代了繁琐的线下申请，但其网站设计仍停留在互联网泡沫时期水平，申请流程依然充满不确定性且操作复杂。东南亚及中东国家流畅的在线服务与之形成鲜明对比。多数邻国已实施落地签或免签政策。
Lastly, it is important to make life easier for tourists when they do arrive. India has made great leaps in digital infrastructure. Modern airports in big cities are equipped with biometric gates that make it easier to get through the multiple checkpoints. Electronic gates are speeding up passport control. But these things work only for Indians, infuriating foreign travellers.
Getting first-timers into the country is crucial. Most visitors, despite the hassles, have a good experience, says Neil Patil of Veena World, a tour operator. Along with social media, recommendations from friends and family are the chief reason people decide to travel to a given destination.
吸引首次访客尤为关键。旅游公司 Veena World 的尼尔·帕蒂尔表示，尽管存在诸多不便，多数游客仍能获得良好体验。除社交媒体外，亲友推荐是人们选择旅行目的地的主要方式。
One happy tourist can net another five, reckons Mr Sharma. Even Mr Van der Meij, despite his sub-optimal experience, would like to return once India has fixed some of its problems. But “by then I will be 95 and I will be happy to know what day of the week it is,”he says. Next time, he’s going to Japan.
据夏尔马估算，一位满意游客能带来五位新客源。就连体验欠佳的范德梅伊也表示，若印度能改善现存问题，他仍愿再度造访。不过这位老者调侃道："等那时候我都95岁了，能记得星期几就不错啦。"眼下，他正计划着日本之旅。
（红色标注词为重难点词汇）
重难点词汇：
detour [d ɪˈtʊər] n. 绕路；绕道
bureaucracy [bj ʊˈrɑːkrəsi] n. 官僚主义；官僚机构
chronic [ ˈkrɑːnɪk] adj. 慢性的；长期的
fiddly [ ˈfɪdli] adj. 棘手的；需要精细技巧的
来源：每日双语经济学人
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