For Taiwan tourism, winter came early.

对于台湾旅游业来说，今年的冬天来得有些早。

A significant drop in mainland visitors in the past few months has taken its toll¹ on the island's tourism economy.

过去几个月里，大陆赴台游客数量的锐减已经对台湾的旅游经济造成了极大损失。

Forty percent of related businesses were hit with a sharp drop in revenue--23 percent on average--according to a survey by Taiwan companies 1111 Job Bank and its subsidiary TaiwanXing travel agency.

据台湾1111人力银行及其子公司台湾行旅行社的调查显示，百分之四十的旅游相关产业的收入都大幅下降（平均下降23%）。

The cold spell claimed its first major victim when Genesis Travel Agency, a time-honored company specializing in group tour services for mainland visitors, declared bankruptcy² last Wednesday, according to the Taiwan tourism authority.

据台湾旅游局表示，台湾创世纪旅行社是这次旅游业寒冬的第一个主要受害者。这家历史悠久、专营陆客团体游的公司在上周三宣布破产。

Mainland tourists accounted for 40 percent of Taiwan's total visitors last year. Now, with fewer visitors coming from the mainland, Hsu Kao-ching, a former executive of the Travel Agent Association, said he worried there would be more travel agency closures.

大陆游客占据了去年赴台旅游总人数的40%。台旅行公会全联会前秘书长许高庆表示，他担心随着大陆赴台游客数量的减少，未来会有更多的旅行社倒闭。

The total number of mainland visitors has fallen 22.3 percent since Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 20, according to the Taiwan tourism authority.

据台湾旅游局表示，在蔡英文于5月20日就职以后，大陆赴台游客总数较原来减少了22.3%。

In June, the number had dropped to 271,000, the lowest point in 30 months.

这个数字在六月下降到了27万1000人次，是近三个月里的最低值。

The number of Chinese group tours was cut by 47 percent from June to July, partly because of fallout from a fatal bus fire near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport that killed 24 mainland tourists on July 19, according to the Taiwan tourism authority.

台湾旅游局还声称，大陆赴台的旅行团数量在六、七月份骤降了47%，部分原因是在7月19日台湾桃园国际机场附近发生的旅游大巴起火事故，这场事故夺走了24名大陆游客的生命。

Political uncertainty³ created by Tsai's party and safety concerns over the bus accident are the main reasons for the free fall in mainland tourists, said Zhu Songling, director of Taiwan Research and Cross-Straits Relations at Beijing Union University.

北京联合大学台湾研究院两岸研究所所长朱松岭表示：“民进党创造出的政治不确定性以及大巴事故中显露出的安全隐患，是大陆赴台游客数量剧减的主要原因。”