Negative international perception of China is leading to a decline in inbound tourism to China in recent years and at the current rate may continue up to three years, according to a China tourism international public opinion survey.
The survey conducted from August to December 2014 interviewed 23,000 respondents in 23 countries and regions, covering 90% of China’s inbound tourism source markets.
Research director Zhiming Liu said the survey results showed that deteriorating perception of China was a common factor among a host of varied factors influencing travel decision-making in the various source markets.
“Aggravated pollution, a significant wealth gap, corruption, and public safety concerns are contributing factors to the unfavorable perception,” he explained.
Perception challenges notwithstanding, the survey indicates a hope for the China’s inbound tourism to curb its downward trend, as the global tourism industry is heading for sustained growth which could creating favorable external factors for China to revitalize its flagging tourism.
The silver lining in the survey is that overseas travelers still showed a varying levels of interest in visiting China – almost 60% of respondents indicated they were “very interested” to “interested”. Asian visitor source markets like Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea showed the highest level of interest in China visits and those in South Africa, USA and the UK also showed significant interest in visiting China. While respondents may have negative perceptions of China, positive publicity and reforms may reverse China's tarnished national image and make it a more appealing destination for more interested travelers.(Translation by David)
