Business: English Skills
ビジネスチャンスを活かす英語力UPのために
こんにちは！メルマガ3月号を担当します、貝塚です。
春が待ち遠しい今日この頃ですが、みなさまお元気でお過ごしでしょうか。
今月はコロナウイルスに関連した記事を一部選抜し解説を行いたいと思います。
Kyoto is usually packed with tourists from all over the world.
But as the coronavirus outbreak keeps visitors away from the historic streets of Japan’s former capital, a group of shopkeepers has launched an “empty tourism” campaign to lure them back.
Merchants from five shopping streets in Kyoto’s Arashiyama neighborhood — a popular tourist district on the western outskirts of the city that’s filled with temples and shrines — have devised an advertising campaign dubbed “suitemasu Arashiyama,” which translates to “empty Arashiyama” or “there are few people around in Arashiyama.”
(1) The posters created for the campaign showcase how any would-be travelers could have the district’s most-visited spots all to themselves.
It does so by showing images of four popular tourist sites in Arashiyama with a tongue-in-cheek message for each one.
One poster shows a monkey with the caption: “It’s been a while since there were more monkeys than humans.” Underneath, there’s a photo of Togetsukyo Bridge — normally crowded with Instagrammers — with no tourists about.
Another depicts Arayshiyama’s beautiful bamboo grove accompanied with several hashtags, including “#nopeople” and “#nowisthetime.”
Arashiyama has enjoyed many busy traveler-filled winters over the past few years.
However, due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, locals report that the neighborhood has had fewer visitors so far in 2020 than in 2019.
As a consequence, the district’s tourism website states that shopkeepers are at the ready to welcome visitors “with even more hospitality than usual.”
(2) “Recently our region sustained a lot of disasters, like typhoons, flood [and] the coronavirus. We have to keep our chins up,” Shuichi Kato, a community spokesman dedicated to promoting tourism in Arashiyama, told CNN Travel.
By Emiko Jozuka “Kyoto launches ‘empty tourism’ campaign amid coronavirus outbreak”. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/coronavirus-japan-kyoto-empty-tourism-campaign-hnk-intl/index.html
<Vocabulary>
Outbreak発生、Lure誘惑、Devised工夫をする、Grove茂み、Crowded混んでいる、Hospitalityおもてなし、Sustain保つ、Dedicated打ち込んでいる
＜解説＞
(1) The posters created for the campaign showcase how any would-be travelers could have the district’s most-visited spots all to themselves.
It does so by showing images of four popular tourist sites in Arashiyama with a tongue-in-cheek message for each one.
嵐山の観光ポスターは皮肉を交えて、観光客が観光スポットを独り占めできると宣伝している。
Tounge-in-cheek を直訳すると「頬に舌」という意味になりますが、「冗談、皮肉を（言う）」という意味で使われています。
頬の内側に舌を押し付ける顔の表情は海外では「この話を本気で捉えないで」と捉えられています。
(2) “Recently our region sustained a lot of disasters, like typhoons, flood [and] the coronavirus. We have to keep our chins up,” Shuichi Kato, a community spokesman dedicated to promoting tourism in Arashiyama, told CNN Travel.
「私たちの地域は台風からコロナウイルスまで様々な災害を経験してきました。なので、今回も頑張って乗り越えるしかありません」と嵐山観光の広報担当者がCNNの記者に伝えた。
「Chin up」は直訳すると「顎を上げる」、「上を向く」という意味になります。
「Chin up」はイディオムの一つでもあり、「元気を出そう」という意味でも使われています。
「Keep your chin up! We are not losing yet!」：「まだ負けてないんだから、元気を出そう！」
いかがでしたでしょうか、コロナウイルスも早く落ち着き、いい形で東京オリンピックを迎えたいですね。
