実践ビジネス英語 ディクテーション (8/9,10 ほか)
NHKラジオ「実践ビジネス英語」”Talk the Talk”のディクテーションです。
Lesson 9のテーマは、’Overtourism’（観光公害）でした。Vignetteでは、旅行者の増加を背景に、世界各地の人気の観光地の多くでひどい混雑が観光インフラ、文化が被害を与えていることが話題になりました。
Talk the Talkでは、Heatherさんがヴェニスを旅行した時の様子などについて話されています。
Overtourism
（S: 杉田敏先生 H: Heather Howardさん）
S: In our current vignette, the staff talks about the phenomenon of overtourism.
Have you ever been to places that seemed to be suffering from this problem, Heather?
H: The clearest example in my experience was Venice.
I went there many years ago with my husband and my father.
My father has traveled extensively in Italy and he warned us about how crowded it would be.
But we’d always wanted to see that famous city, so we ended up spending a day there.
There were wonderful elements to visit.
I’ll never forget riding in a gondola through the watery streets.
And on a remote chance that any of them might be listening, a special “thank you” to the group of ladies from Japan, who were in the gondolas right behind us.
I suspect they were a choral group because they sang a beautiful rendition of “Santa Lucia” as we all rode along.
Thank you, it was magical!
However, my father was right about the ridiculous level of crowding.
There were so many tourists there it almost didn’t feel like visiting a city; it was like being in a theme park.
Venice is amazingly beautiful, I’m glad we went.
And honestly speaking I have never really wanted to go again.
What about you, Mr. Sugita?
S: I saw the first signs of overtourism when I visited friends who lived in Washington D.C. in the 1970s.
Washington has two main industries: tourism and politics.
While D.C. benefited from tourist income, my friends loathed the way out-of-town visitors would snarl up local traffic.
However, what we are seeing today is of a different magnitude.
Overtourism has become a heavy burden for many popular destinations.
Kyoto is often cited as an example of global overtourism.
Aside from the usual problems local residents complain of, it is said to be very difficult now for domestic business travelers to book a hotel in Kyoto.
H: I’ve heard that kind of thing too.
It sounds very different from when I was there as a student, and in my early years of working in Japan.
Of course, there were plenty of tourists back then too, but I never felt really overwhelmed by crowds when I went around Kyoto.
I haven’t been there now in some years, and it seems I would find it very different if I went back.
S: You probably would.
The simple fact is more and more people are traveling.
Cheaper ways to travel and stay have fueled the sharp increase in international tourism.
It’s often a love-hate relationship for the locals.
Local merchants love tourist money but residents may resent the environmental and cultural damage overtoursim brings to their cities.
Plus the diminished quality of life overall.
H: I can see that.
A friend of mine in Japan complained to me, for example, about people staying in “minpaku,” as they’re called here, in her neighborhood.
She and other full-time residents of the area didn’t like these home-sharing facilities partly because the guests were coming and going at all hours of the night.
They’d sit outside on the balconies apparently smoking and drinking in the wee hours of the morning.
Like McMillan says at the very end of the vignette, when we’re tourists we’re guests.
People really should err on the side of caution in situations like that.
It’s a real shame when bad apples ruin something for the entire barrel.
Words and Expressions
snarl up: （交通などを）渋滞させる
err on the side of caution：十分慎重になるべきだ、用心しすぎるくらいでもよい
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
お読み下さり、ありがとうございました♪
