China’s notorious smog is a big turn-off for overseas visitors and is damaging the tourist industry says the China Tourism Academy.
A survey released this week points to poor water and air quality as reasons for decline in visitors as well as a lack of adapted facilities for disabled travellers.
There were 129 million inbound visitors last year, a fall of 2.5% from the previous 12 months says the report.
However tourist revenue was up by 3.27% to $52 billion.
China remains the fourth most visited global destination behind France, the US and Spain.
"China’s inbound tourism market is in a grave situation unseen before and there is no sign that it will bounce back soon," said Dai Bin, the director of the academy.
The report also cited acts of domestic terrorism as a factor dampening demand for visits to China.
In recent months, the Xinjiang region has experienced several clashes between ethnic Uighurs and the majority Han population.
