Beijing saw a 10% drop in inbound tourism in 2013

It appears rising air pollution and a strengthening yuan have taken a toll on Beijing's tourism industry.

In 2013, the capital played host to more than 4.5 million overseas tourists, a drop of 10 percent compared to a year before. 85 percent of overseas tourists were guests from foreign countries, the remainder were visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Foreign earnings from inbound tourism reached 4.7 billion US dollars, a drop of nearly 7 percent from the previous year.

Overseas tourists spent an average of one thousand dollars in the city, with shopping and long-distance travel each accounting for more than a quarter of total spending. The number of inbound travelers to Beijing had grown substantially since the city hosted the 2008 Olympics before starting to decline in 2012.