Major plan underway to attract inbound tourists(2)

A group of tourists pose at Tian'anmen Square.

The number of inbound tourists who took sightseeing tours stood at roughly 6.5 million from January to September in 2014, down 13.8 percent when compared with the figure during the same period in 2013, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

According to Liu, the reasons behind slowing inbound tourism to China are complex.

Many foreign businesses have moved out of China in the past two years, resulting in a reduction in the number of business travelers from abroad, he says.

"China's inbound tourism is expected to hit bottom by the end of 2015," Liu predicts. "It may start to rebound only from 2016."

Air pollution, food and travel safety are among major reasons that keep tourists from neighboring countries, such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore, from choosing China as their travel destination, he adds.

Costs are, for the most part, to blame for discouraging tourists from Europe, America and Africa.

It costs about $2,000 for these long-distance travelers to China, when they can spend less on trips to major European tourist attractions closer to home.

Still, the key reason for the decline in inbound tourism is the slipping national image of China, Liu says.

Foreign media focus on the country's pollution, wealth gap, corruption and public security problems, appear to have caused a change in their people's perception of China.

Cai Jiacheng, deputy director of the information center of the tourism administration, says high-priced but low-value tourism products that lack competitiveness are to blame for the sluggish trade. The websites of many tourism administrations and scenic spots are "impractical and poorly maintained".

The international financial crisis and RMB appreciation, are among the factors that contributed to the downturn trend in China's inbound tourism, says Zhu.

In an international study prior to its official launch earlier this month, the new think tank found that foreigners still have a keen interest in traveling to China, and there's a huge potential for growth in the number of inbound tourists. But the challenges remain.

For instance, many foreign tourists surveyed expressed a lack of desire to travel to China in the next three years citing various reasons. In addition, China's inbound tourism market faces competition from neighboring countries, such as Japan, which has witnessed significant growth of its inbound tourism market.

Liu is optimistic though. He believes China can expect a quadruple growth in inbound tourism in the future, considering the country's abundant tourism resources.