纽约如何提升访客体验 Three ways New York could help visitors love the city even more

It is 42 years since, as a teenage exchange student, I emerged from the Port Authority bus terminal and looked at New York in wonder. The city thrilled me then, and after many visits — six in the past 18 months alone — it still does.

42年以前，作为一个十几岁的交换生，我站在纽新航港局(Port Authority)客运总站，惊奇地打量着纽约。当时，这座城市让我兴奋不已，在多次到访过这座城市之后（仅过去18个月我就来过6次），这座城市依然给我同样的感觉。

People complain that New York, like many large cities, has become too expensive for most, including the creative types who gave it its edge. Those who have lost out — the derelict, the homeless — are distressingly visible, but New York at least feels safe, which is a remarkable change for those who knew it in earlier decades.

人们抱怨，像许多大城市一样，纽约的居住成本对大多数人而言已经变得过于昂贵，包括对于那些赋予这座城市其独特优势的创意人士。让人不安的是，城市各处依然能够见到那些社会边缘人——乞丐和无家可归者，不过，眼下的纽约至少让人感到安全，对于那些早几十年到过纽约的人而言，这是个显著的变化。

And, whatever some locals say, it still feels wonderfully vibrant: the art, the theatre, the excellence of neighbourhood restaurants, the sense of possibility as you step on to the street each day.

而且，不管一些本地人怎么说，纽约依然给人一种生机勃勃的感觉：艺术、剧院、极好的本地餐厅，每一天你踏上纽约的街道时都会感受到的那种一切皆有可能的感觉。

Many visitors feel the same, and the city last month produced figures to prove it. An estimated 58.3m people visited New York last year, up 1.8m on 2014, Bill de Blasio, the mayor, said. Both domestic tourist numbers, at 46m, and foreign visitors, at 12.3m, reached all-time highs.

很多来访者也有同感，1月这个城市用数据证明了这一点。纽约市长白思豪(Bill de Blasio)表示，据估计纽约去年接待旅客5830万人，比2014年增加了180万人。其中国内旅客达4600万人，国外旅客为1230万人，都创下了历史新高。

This year, though, will be tougher. “With the continuing pressure on the global economy and the strengthening dollar, we will need to work even harder in 2016,” NYC & Company, the city’s marketing body, said.

然而，今年的形势要严峻一些。“随着全球经济持续承受压力，美元走强，我们需要在2016年更加努力地工作，”纽约市官方营销机构NYC & Company表示。

So what can New York do to make its visitors happier?

那么，纽约能做些什么以让来访者更满意呢？

I am not going to moan about JFK. It takes decades to improve airports, at least in democratic countries. Nor do I have a problem with the taxi drivers. Contrary to myth, I have never found one who does not speak English.

我不打算抱怨肯尼迪国际机场(JFK)。要改善机场，至少在民主国家，需要数十年时间。我对纽约出租车司机也没有意见。和普遍的说法不同，我从来没有遇到一个不会说英语的司机。

The first improvement New York needs is in its hotels. The city has some of the worst I have ever stayed in.

纽约首先要改善的是酒店。纽约的一些酒店堪称我住过的酒店里面最差的。

Arriving at one, where rooms cost more than $300 a night, I spent time poking around before calling the front desk to say I could not find the closet. My room didn’t have one, came the reply. Where was I supposed to hang my clothes? There was a chest of drawers.

有一次我住了一家一晚房价超过300美元的酒店，到了房间里以后，我四处寻找也没有找到衣柜，然后打电话给前台。回复是，我的房间本来就没有衣柜。那我的衣服该挂在哪里呢？有个抽屉柜。

After complaining that I needed a hanging space to unrumple my suit and had never come across a hotel without one, I was moved to a room with a closet — and a window jammed open, in midwinter.

我说我需要一个挂衣服的地方，否则我的西服会皱，而且我从来没遇到过哪家酒店不配衣柜，于是店方给我换了一个有衣柜的房间，可是那间房的窗户卡在了打开状态，而且时值隆冬。

Another tantrum produced an apology and a move to a capacious suite. Leaving it the next morning, I waited for the familiar door-clunk. Failing to hear it, I investigated. The lock had been jemmied out.

我又发了一顿脾气，店方向我道了歉，然后给我换了一间宽敞的套房。第二天早上离开客房时，我等着听房门锁上的熟悉响声，结果始终没有听到，查看一番发现，门锁已经被撬掉了。

You may have your favourite boutique hotel. I have now found mine — a book-lined bibliophile’s delight — but looking at this year’s room rates, I expect the expenses people at the Financial Times will start objecting.

你可能有你自己最喜欢的精品酒店。我已经找到我的了——一家会让爱书人感到愉悦的书籍风格的酒店。不过，看看今年的房间价格，我估计英国《金融时报》负责报销的同事应该会拒绝为我报销了。

Sean Hennessey, a tourism specialist at NYU School of Professional Studies, told me there was a construction surge of reliable mid-quality properties, and I should look at the Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn or Courtyard hotel chains.

纽约大学职业研究学院(NYU School of Professional Studies)的旅游业专家肖恩亨尼西(Sean Hennessey)告诉我，纽约近来建了不少品质可靠的中档物业，我应该看看汉普敦酒店(Hampton Inn)、希尔顿花园酒店(Hilton Garden Inn)和万怡酒店(Courtyard)这些连锁酒店。

My second suggested improvement is breakfast, particularly in hotels. While we have learnt to love food from all over the world for lunch and dinner, breakfast remains culturally specific. That is why Asian hotels offer a choice of local or western.

我建议纽约提升的第二项是早餐，尤其是酒店里的早餐。尽管我们已经学会在午餐和晚餐的时候欣然接受来自世界各地的食品，早餐依然具有文化上的特殊性。这就是为什么亚洲的酒店会提供当地早餐和西式早餐两种选择。

I am not suggesting New York’s hotels do the same, although, as China is now the city’s fastest-growing source of visitors, they might consider it; nor am I suggesting they offer full English breakfasts, even though the UK sends more tourists to New York than any other country. I am just, in these health-conscious times, asking for cereals and baked goods that are less sugary.

我不是在建议纽约的酒店如法炮制，尽管由于中国是纽约增长最快的游客来源地，纽约的酒店可能会考虑这样做；我也不是在建议他们提供全套英式早餐，尽管英国向纽约输送的旅客比其他任何国家都多。在这个人们更关注健康的时代，我只是希望酒店能够提供含糖量更少的麦片和面包类食品。

My third suggested improvement is to the subway. It is a magnificent system. It is extensive, it runs through the night and, while the stations are dank and gloomy, the trains are air-conditioned and clean. The problem with the subway is that it is incomprehensible. Lines have three or four different services. It took me several trips hurtling towards, I feared, the Canadian border to work out the difference between local and express.

我建议纽约改善的第三项是地铁。纽约地铁是个了不起的系统。它覆盖很广，而且24小时运营。尽管站台昏暗无光，列车还是安装了空调且比较干净的。纽约地铁的问题在于太复杂。同一条线路上有快车(express)、慢车(local)等三四种不同的服务。有过好几次差点坐到了加拿大的经历之后，我才终于搞清楚了慢车和快车的区别。

Some carriages have lighted maps showing where you are; others do not. It is hard to see which exit to use. There are signs that say: “To Metropolitan Av weekdays & eves. Other times take F to Delancey St for J.”

一些车厢有亮着指示灯的地图，显示你所在的位置；另一些车厢则没有。很难搞明白该走哪个出口。有一个指示标是这样写的：“周一到周五、新年和圣诞前夜通往大都会大街(Metropolitan Av)。其他时间乘坐F线到德兰西街(Delancey St)转J线。”

I suspect native New Yorkers take a secret delight in everyone else’s befuddlement. It is like being able to do a cryptic crossword or understand the rules of cricket. Clearer signs would help preserve those tourism jobs. Just a suggestion. From a friend.

我怀疑纽约本地人看到外地人摸不着头脑的样子会偷着乐。这就像是你会填一个加密的字谜或者了解板球的规则一样。更清晰的标识会有助于纽约保住旅游业的就业岗位。这只是我的友情建议。