CRI听力:Tourism Flourished by the London Olympic Games

With less than a month to go before the London Olympics, Chinese tourists are grabbing a final opportunity to book luxury tours to the British capital.
 
Many tourists, especially the young, are very excited about their upcoming trips to London during the summer holidays.

"London is my dream place to go. I would like to make full use of this opportunity to do some sightseeing around London and the country."

"I am very excited about going to London to watch the live Games. I am going to arrange the entire trip by myself."

Meanwhile, some others just cannot afford the expensive travel.

"I don't feel like going there because I have inadequate funds."

Zhang Rui, vice-president of Caissa Tourist Group, the only authorized Olympic Games ticket reseller in China, says the number of tourists who have come to her agency to book tours to London climbed to 100 per day during the peak travel season from May to June.

Zhang says the London Olympics have given a huge boost to the tourism industry and will continue to have a positive impact until next year, especially on trips to London.

"The number of tourists who book London trips is ten times larger than the number who booked during the same season last year. And the fervor for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 is still boosting the current Olympic tourism market."

Mr. Bai, an experienced tourist guide says the London Olympic Games will make trips to London, as well as to Britain as a whole, very popular even after the Games have ended.

"Many people may still choose to travel to London two to thee years after the Games. The number of tourists is expected to grow. London tours were not so popular before. They will gain more popularity after the Games."

The tourist guide also suggests that Chinese who travel abroad learn something about the local culture and religion beforehand in order to avoid any misunderstandings.

For CRI, I am Zhou Jingnan.