Fewer visitors to Beijing after visa changes

The number of overseas visitors to Beijing dropped 5.3% year-on-year in April, likely the result of a recent crackdown on tourist and business visas, said the city’s statistics bureau. The bureau said the appreciating renminbi and rising travel prices may also have contributed to the decrease, the Wall Street Journal reported. Inbound travel from Hong Kong and Macau, which accounts for almost 10% of the city’s overseas visits, was down 30% from April 2007. Travel from the US, Japan and South Korea decreased by 17.2%, 24.4% and 11% during the period, respectively. In early May the Chinese government acknowledged that it had tightened visa procedures ahead of the Olympics.