China’s inbound tourism industry has experienced a consecutive decline for the past three years, according to China Daily. If things continue, the country is highly unlikely to meet its overall goal included in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15).
The annual target growth rate of visits by overseas tourists is 3 percent, as stated by the guideline outlined in the 12th Five-Year Plan. As for foreign tourists, the target is 4.5 percent.
To meet China's annual target, the country needs to welcome 153 million and 31.15 million tourists, overseas and foreign, by the end of this year.
China's slump in its inbound tourism industry occurred after a slight growth in 2011. In 2015 alone, foreign tourists dropped by 1.1 percent year-on-year to 19 million. On the other hand, the number of overseas visits reached 98.9 percent, which reflects a 4.4-percent increase.
The numbers indicate that it will be impossible for China to meet its overall goal by the last day of Dec. 2015. Experts such as Giao Tianming from the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences agree.
Meanwhile, Dai Bin, the director of China Tourism Industry, remains optimistic, saying that "the continuing downward trend has been contained."
Compared to China's peers, however, the country's inbound tourism industry is still struggling, said Dai.
For example, Japan and South Korea experienced a 29.4 percent and 17 percent increase in their respective inbound tourism industries, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Wang Qing, a senior official with the Beijing Tourism Development Commission, points to pollution, the language barrier, and lack of price competitiveness as the main culprits behind China's sluggish inbound tourism industry.