Subsidizing tours can be designed to offer more returns
设计旅游补贴，促进更多收益
Statistics from the National Immigration Administration show that as many as 17.25 million foreign tourists entered China in the first seven months of this year, up 129.9 percent compared with the same period last year. Impressive as the number is, foreign tourists will soon find themselves overshadowed by domestic tourists who are flocking to some of the hot destinations.
国家移民管理局统计数据显示，今年前七个月入境外国游客达1725万人次，比去年同期增长129.9%。尽管外国游客规模庞大，但热门景点的国内游客数量更胜一筹。
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism had earlier disclosed that in the first half of this year, Chinese people made 2.72 billion domestic trips, up 14.3 percent year-on-year. Domestic tours usually refer to people traveling using different transport means and heading to other regions for nonbusiness reasons. Going by the ministry's statistics, on average, each Chinese person made nearly two domestic trips in the first six months of this year. Total expenditure incurred on tourism, during the period, was 2.73 trillion yuan, making tourism an important contributor to national efforts at boosting domestic consumption.
文化和旅游部此前透露，今年上半年，中国国内游客人数达27.2亿人次，同比增长14.3%。国内旅游通常是指使用各种交通工具前往其他地区的非商务旅行。根据文化和旅游部数据，今年上半年，平均每个中国人有近两次国内旅行。在此期间，旅游总支出为2.73万亿元人民币，旅游业成为国家促进国内消费的重要支柱。
Throughout history, China has never been short of brave and curious people. Nearly 2,500 years ago, Confucius toured many states to promote his philosophy as well as to explore new landscapes. The works of great poets like Li Bai and Du Fu would have been devoid of all their color had they not toured different parts of the country 1,300 years ago for a better understanding of society and a deeper appreciation of the beautiful sceneries.
纵观历史，中国从不缺少勇敢和好奇的人。近2500年前，孔子周游列国，宣扬哲学思想，探索新风景。如果李白和杜甫等伟大诗人没有在1300年前周游列国，更好地了解社会，更深入地欣赏美丽的风景，他们的作品也将黯然失色。
By the 1990s, more and more Chinese people began to flock to tourist destinations. Since then, the number has been rising, enabling China to become the world's biggest domestic tourism market and probably the biggest source country for outbound tourism. In the early stages, people mostly joined tour groups for convenience as well as affordability. Then they chose to do it on their own, for relaxation and freedom. Now many people prefer driving to faraway destinations for greater mobility.
到20世纪90年代，越来越多的中国人开始涌向旅游目的地。自此中国旅游人数持续上升，中国成为世界上最大的国内旅游市场，也可能是最大的出境旅游客源国。在早期阶段，人们大多为了方便和便宜跟团旅游。后来大家选择自由行，轻松自在。现在很多人选择长途自驾去旅游目的地，更加随心所欲。
Though the country has more than 13,000 tourist destinations ranked between 1A and 5A, the huge number of domestic tourists means that most of them, especially the 300 top-ranked 5A sites, are crowded most of the time. Therefore, most Chinese people know that they should avoid traveling during the two Golden Week holidays, in May and in October, when most tourist sites are crammed with people, who make use of the week-long vacation to visit tourist sites.
尽管中国有13000多个1A至5A级景区，但由于国内游客数量庞大，大多数景区在大部分时间都人满为患，尤其是排名前300位的5A级景区。因此，大多数中国人都避免在五月和十月的两个“黄金周”期间出行。由于人们会在为期一周的假期中旅游各景点，黄金周期间的大多数景点都挤满了人。
To boost domestic consumption, the central and local governments have been offering subsidies to those looking to buy motor vehicles, machinery, and other industrial products. I think the authorities should put in more efforts to subsidize tourism because, as is amply clear now, people are more willing to loosen their purse strings when it comes to tours.
为刺激国内消费，中央和地方政府一直在为机动车、机械和其他工业产品消费提供补贴。依我之见，政府应该加大力度补贴旅游业，人们愿意在旅游上慷慨解囊这一点已经不言而喻。
