开普敦担心四月的水耗尽
byCheryl Rosen/
Deep in the throes of a months-long drought, Cape Town, South Africa, this April will become the first major city to simply run out of water, city officials say.
上周,执行市长帕特里夏·德里尔(Patricia de Lille)表示,零日很可能发生在4月21日。以及其他紧急措施,试图延长剩余的水的寿命。
It is midsummer now, and rationing is already in place in the second-largest city in South Africa, the capital of the Western Cape province. Citizens are restricted to 23 gallons a day; filling pools, washing cars and watering lawns is forbidden.
Travel agents say they are beginning to get concerned. Rose Gray, BDM at Fox World Travel, has had one customer in a group she is taking in September ask about the water situation. And fearing liability and complaints, said one industry insider, last week canceled flights for two customers she had already booked to Cape Town and rebooked two others elsewhere.
“They will shut off the water taps and people will have to stand in lines to get water; this is not anyone’s idea of a vacation,” she told TMR. “This has been a lesson in keeping updated with world events, a reminder of how fragile our world is.”
The airlines allowed her to cancel the tickets without paying a change fee, she said. She also has a client who is canceling, using her insurance to repay her.
In Rochester, New Hampshire, travel agent Dillon Guyer, with Travel international, also has a client who canceled, and got a refund from his travel insurance.
有些不担心
但是其他旅行专业人员认为不再需要关注。
肯塔基州Ntaba African Safaris的所有者Robin John Mountain说:“这被炸毁了。”“而且,任何人都能做的最残酷的事情是,当他们遭受痛苦时,他们现在就取消前往开普敦的旅行。我保证您没有您会留在的酒店或您会吃的餐厅不会喝水。”
Even if water levels continue to fall, Mountain said, Cape Town is on an ocean. And it will get rain when rainy season begins, in May or June. “I’m going back with a group in May and another in August; I’m cautiously optimistic that it will work out. It’s like anywhere in the world, the larger the population grows, the more we impact the natural environment around us.”
但是,罗德岛州普罗维登斯的旅行社科莱特(Collette)正在更加重视这个问题。执行副总裁Paula Twidale告诉TMR,该公司“致力于我们客人的健康,安全和保障,这是我们的第一优先事项。在整个水资源短缺的过程中,我们一直在开普敦的地面上与我们的合作伙伴紧密合作,以确保我们的客人在整个访问过程中都可以使用水合和卫生。”
Cape Town Tourism says there is “adequate water for tourists’ essential daily needs such as washing, using the toilet, and other daily hygiene. In the event Cape Town cuts its regular water supply, water will be severely rationed but sufficient for daily needs. At present, water restrictions are in place in the City of Cape Town, and residents and tourists are requested to adhere to them,” Twidale said.
“ Collette将继续监视可用性,并与地面上的合作伙伴迅速采取行动,以根据需要调整旅行。在干旱状况的持续时间内,Collette将在开普敦期间每天为客人提供三瓶饮用水。可以从商店购买额外的水。目前,瓶装水很容易获得,因为它主要来自开普敦以外的天然泉水。”