China: Foreign Tourism Falls, and Smog May Be One Reason
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Version 0 of 1. China, one of the world’s most popular destinations for international travelers, has experienced a significant decline in the number of tourists this year. Among the factors cited by the China National Tourism Administration were worsening smog, the sluggish global economy, a stronger Chinese currency and bird flu. “All the news which is coming from China concerning the nontouristic things are bad, frankly speaking,” said Frano Ilic of the travel agency Studiosus in Munich. From January to June, the number of foreign visitors to China declined by 5 percent. The falloff was more severe in Beijing, where the number of foreign tourists and business travelers dropped by 15 percent in that period. China is the world’s third most popular destination for international travel after France and the United States. |