The pollution issue
The CTA report said a sluggish global economy, geopolitics, intensifying international competition and fluctuation of the value of the yuan have all contributed to the decline of inbound visitors to China, yet the main issue was the air quality.
"Foreign visitors tend to be more sensitive about air quality than domestic tourists," the report said. "International media have even issued travel alerts about the hazy and foggy weather."
The CTA said the poor air quality has contributed largely to a low satisfaction rate from foreign visitors in China, which has dropped by 1.49 percent to 73.97, a reading that the association categorizes as "basic satisfaction."
Iris de Vette, a resident of Utrecht, the Netherlands, who visited Beijing last week, said she has never in her life experienced anything like the pollution in Beijing.
"The first day I was a bit surprised. At first it looked like a thick morning fog, and I did not realize that this was really smog. It was a bit unbelievable to me," she told the Global Times on Tuesday.
The hazy and foggy weather has been severe and persistent in the last couple of weeks in the northern part of the country, as central heating systems, which rely primarily on coal-burning furnaces, have been switched on for the winter.
Another point of view
However, some foreign visitors said the air pollution does not bother them as much because they are only here for a short period of time.
"The smog would be a problem for me however if I were to stay here for a longer period of time," said Tobias Hofland, a student from the Netherlands who has been studying in Beijing since August.
Hofland told the Global Times on Tuesday that he was "positively surprised" by the air quality. "It is nowhere as bad as I had expected, heard or read," he said.
However, Hofland and other foreign visitors hope to see improvements in air quality and other environmental issues.
A change in policy
Lin Wenbin, an analyst at the Analysys International, said the environmental issue is a major problem not only for inbound tourism, but for "many other things." The government has focused a lot on the issue.
Policymakers are drafting a law to tax polluters. It is likely the draft will be submitted to State Council, China's cabinet, by the end of the year, before being passed on to the National People's Congress in the middle of next year, China Central Television reported last week.
With measures like this, "the air quality will improve," Lin told the Global Times on Tuesday.
However, he noted the hazy and foggy weather is not the only reason that inbound tourism has been declining.
Lin said a rise in the level of consumption in China has also deterred some visitors, who are sensitive to cost and account for a large portion of overseas tourists to China.
A bright future
Lin said the number of inbound tourists will start growing again as China improves its national image, forms closer diplomatic ties with other countries and regions, and boosts cooperation in the tourism sector with countries such as the U.S.
Moreover, more and more overseas tourists such as Chen, de Vette and Hofland have become increasingly interested in the country and would like to visit again.
"I would love to go back to China," said de Vette. "There is a lot more to see and a lot more to be discovered."
