Can better public toilets save China's tourism industry?(2)

In particular, said Zhong, potential tourists would make a point of not traveling to Beijing, a city that is frequently at the center of reports about China's air pollution.

Tredinnick and Carter however, disagreed that air pollution was the major factor dissuading tourists from traveling to China.

"Most tourists don't imagine that staying a few days in a badly polluted city will affect them too much," said Tredinnick, who lives in Hong Kong where air pollution is also a regular topic of public concern.

Carter criticized the Western media's tendency to focus on China's environmental woes. "We encourage China's growth, but criticize the inevitable side effects of that growth," he said.

Carter and Tredinnick also blamed the downturn in China's inbound tourism to issues around bureaucratic control.

"Access to information is a chief concern among expats and tourists in China. If a Western tourist can't even check their e-mail during their weeklong holiday in China, and if foreign businessmen here can't conduct their business online, then they will just go somewhere they can," said Carter.

Tredinnick said that the difficulty of getting a visa was a major contributing factor.

"The best way to improve foreign tourism in China is to get rid of the visa requirements and the terrible bureaucracy that the government puts in place," Tredinnick said.

According to a Xinhua report published this month, more than 40,000 people made use of Beijing's 72 hour visa-free policy last year, but many expat travelers felt that three days was far too short to be able to fully enjoy everything that Beijing has to offer.

Rising costs

Zhong said that China has also been losing ground in the Asia tourism market due to competition from other established destinations in Southeast Asia, in particular Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

"The cost of traveling to a place plays an important role in Western tourists choosing a destination," said Zhong. "Starting from 2013, a lot of European travelers have reported that the cost of traveling to China is more expensive than traveling to many other countries in Southeast Asia, due to the price rises in accommodation, tourist guides and food."

Zhong also said that in many South Asian countries, tourist infrastructure was more developed, and there were more English speakers, which meant "China had become less competitive."

Carter said most of his travel experiences in China were pleasant and safe, but searching for accommodation could be frustrating.

"The Chinese government mandates that foreign tourists must stay at upscale hotels - anything under three-stars, we are not allowed in," said Carter, adding that this made traveling through China more expensive than it needed to be.

During the two years he backpacked across China, he said that he often "survived on the road by staying at flophouses costing 20 yuan." When he was rejected by no-star hotels that refused to break the rules, he had to sleep on bus station floors.

"I even had police come banging at my door at a small hotel in the middle of night and force me to check out," he said.

"Although youth hostels are more common in China now, they can only be found in popular tourist cities."

Other factors such as traffic congestion made travel inconvenient, said Carter.

"The streets can't accommodate the sheer volume of new cars. But among all these cars, few are taxis, so how can a tourist expect to get around?" Carter asked rhetorically.

Plugging the leak

Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, said in a speech delivered at a tourism forum in October last year that China was facing an unprecedented crisis in inbound travel, and that so far, there were no signs of a possible rebound.

Dai said that China had failed to keep up with the new market patterns in international tourism, instead clinging to old models.

To become more competitive in the international tourism market, said Dai, China needs a comprehensive re-branding, that improves perception of the country's social environment and national image, and offers a greater diversity of experiences for tourists.

Zhong agreed that a campaign to re-brand China's image for tourists was urgently needed.

"Since the 1980s, the strategy for attracting foreigners has been an emphasis on ancient relics and traditional culture to pique tourists curiosity," said Zhong.

"But China has undergone rapid economic development and modernization [in recent decades], and a lot of the old things have gone. The promotion of tourism should also emphasize the modern facets of the country."

Tredinnick however, disagreed, saying that for tourists, it was still the traditions and history of China that made it stand out.

"China's main appeal for foreigners is its history and cultural sites - these should be kept as original as possible and not turned into theme parks, which has been happening in recent years," said Tredinnick. "There is a difference between careful restoration and wholesale 'Disney-fication.'"