China’s Tourism Industry: Latest For Sanctioning – OpEd

In the BBC’s continuing China series, the latest story is titled: “Domestic tourism soars in China but foreigners stay away.”  See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-68982645

So why are foreigners staying away?

Tucked away in the story is the observation that most individuals in Western nations hold unfavourable views towards China. Further it argues that the Chinese government’s tightening grip on societal regulations could potentially cause discomfort for foreign travellers in China.

However, nowhere in the article is there evidence provided of foreign travellers being worried about or discomforted by this allegation of “tightening grip”.

Instead the article goes to lengths to inform that foreign travellers are turned off by the country’s state of the art phone app payment and booking system. Quoting an expatriate authority on the economics of tourism in China, the article relates: 

“Technologies such as social network websites, online maps, payment…