经济危机下的游轮业

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2010-2-12 12:59

Cruise lines in the recession
经济危机下的游轮业
Damn the torpedoes
去你丫的鱼雷
Travel companies are launching luxurious ships into perilous waters
旅游公司相继向危险水域推出豪华游轮
Feb 11th 2010 | NEW YORK | From The Economist print edition

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2010-2-12 17:21

IN LATE January Silversea Cruises christened its newest ship, the Silver Spirit, with champagne and sent it on a 91-day voyage around Latin America. The ship, which can accommodate 540 guests, is the company’s largest and most luxurious. Suites are serviced by butlers. Passengers can choose between eight types of pillows. The spa is vast. If it sounds out of tune with the times, it is: the ship was commissioned in 2007, before the start of the economic crisis. But Amerigo Perasso, the boss of Silversea Cruises, insists he is happy with the investment. “People want to see the state of the art,” he says.
一月下旬银海游轮在香槟四溢中将其最新游轮命名为“银色精灵”，并环绕拉美航行91天。这艘游轮是该公司最大也是最豪华的游轮，能够载客540名。套房有 男仆提供服务。8种枕头认旅客选择。休闲健身中心场地开阔。也许这些听起来与经济危机的大环境格格不入，那是因为这艘轮船是在经济危机之前的2007年开 始建造的。但是银海游轮的老板 Amerigo Perasso认为此次投资是值得的，因为人们愿意看到最精湛的技术发展水平。

Silversea is not the only cruise line to launch a new ship in troubled economic waters. In December Royal Caribbean International, the world’s second-biggest cruise operator, rolled out Oasis of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in history. It can accommodate 5,400 guests and has a park with live plants, a large auditorium and a carousel, as well as other amenities normally found in amusement parks. In 2009 cruise companies invested $4.7 billion to build 14 new ships. They will launch a further 12 vessels this year. Many of these plans were laid before the economy sprang a leak.
在经济不景气的大环境下，银海游轮并不是唯一一家推出新游轮的公司。去年12月份，世界第二大游轮公司，皇家加勒比推出史上最大的游轮“海洋绿洲号”。该游轮可载客5400名，配有植物茂盛的公园，大礼堂，旋转木马，以及其他一些通常在游乐园提供的娱乐设备。2009年各大游轮公司投资47亿建造了14艘新游轮。今年打算再推出12艘。而这些计划大部分都是在经济危机之前作出的。

The “supersizing” of the cruise industry comes as other industries are downsizing and consumers are curbing unnecessary expenses. To entice customers, cruise lines have cut prices dramatically, sometimes by as much as 40%. Because of these discounts, more people are taking cruises: 13.4m in 2009, up from 12.6m in 2007, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry body. But the discounts have eaten into earnings. At Carnival Corporation, the biggest cruise line, revenues were more than 10% lower in 2009 than in 2008. Even if the economy recovers, growing capacity may prevent firms from raising prices much.
其他产业不断减少规模，顾客也在控制不必要的开支，而游轮业却不断发展壮大。游轮公司为了吸引游客，采取大幅降价的措施，有时价格下降40%多。因为有折 扣，很多人都愿意消费。据国际游轮业协会数据显示，2007年有1260万游客，2009年增至1340万。但是折扣影响收入。最大的游轮公司——嘉年华 游轮公司2009年的收入比2008年降低了10%多。即便经济复苏，不断增长的容客量也会抑制公司上调价格。

Still, the cruise industry is doing better than other bits of the travel business, like hotels and airlines, which have been battered by a fall in business travel. Cruises can appeal to  consumers by touting themselves as “all-inclusive” (even though many amenities, like alcohol and *excursions*(注）, cost extra). Cruises also allow some people to go on holiday without paying for a flight. There are around 30 ports of embarkation in America alone.
由于商业旅游数量的减少，其他旅游生意，如旅馆，航空公司都受到严重影响，游轮业与之相比发展甚好。游轮业对于有预算意识的游客来说很有吸引力，因为游轮 业声称游客所交费用是包括一切的（即便像酒和登岸观光的费用不包括在内）。对于一些游客来说还可以省下飞机票钱，因为仅在美国就有30处起运港。

The industry’s bosses hope to attract even more customers in the next few years. Only around 20% of Americans have been on a cruise. Most of these are not spring chickens. Firms are trying to draw in younger passengers and families with lower prices, as well as things like ice-skating rinks and cinemas. As a result of these efforts, the median age of cruise passengers in 2008 was 46, down from 53 in 2002. Ross Klein, a cruise-industry analyst, says that cruise lines’ decision to invest in colossal ships may help them diversify their customer base without losing elderly customers. Their sheer size, he says, gives everybody “some place to hide out”.
游轮业的老板们希望该产业在未来几年内能够吸引更多的游客。大约只有20%的美国人坐过游轮。而这20%的人群中大部分不是年轻人。各大公司试图以低价， 溜冰场，电影等形式拉拢年轻游客和家庭游客。这些尝试的结果是，2008年旅客的平均年龄是48岁，而2002年是53岁。一位游轮业分析专家 Ross Klein说，游轮公司相继推出大型游轮也许会丰富消费层，同时又不丢掉年老的顾客。他说，大型游轮给每个人“藏身之所”。

注：根据经验，皇家加勒比从美国迈阿密至巴哈马的游轮曾有2次登陆观光，因此此处采取这种译法

来源：经济学人杂志中文论坛