Beijing drops as tourist destination

A combination of factors, apart from the financial crisis, have resulted in less overseas tourists visiting Beijing.

The number of holidaymakers visiting the capital fell by 11 percent to 436,491 in January and February this year, Gu Xiaoyuan, deputy chief of Beijing tourism administration, said yesterday.

The amount of tourists from Japan and South Korea - which represented 40 percent of the inbound market in recent years - decreased by 16 percent on the same period last year.