Should China's tourist industry be worried? The number of people vacationing on the mainland is seeing a steady decline: Though the country welcomed 132 million visitors in 2012, only 116 million came in 2014. Moreover, 75 percent of them were from Hong Kong and Macau, and, although they might not be mainland Chinese in terms of their passports, they technically count as domestic tourists. A mere 24 million foreigners chose to vacation in China last year. Currently, tourism is making an extremely modest contribution to the country's otherwise booming economy.

France alone attracts three times as many tourists every year. Sixty million foreigners visited the US last year. But, given the worsening smog shrouding entire Chinese regions - as well as complicated and costly visa stipulations - many international travelers clearly feel a little reluctant to face the trials and tribulations of a trip to China. And, as far as Europeans are concerned, their weak currency is another factor, with a vacation in China costing an extra 20 percent nowadays. Compared to its much more affordable and popular neighbors in Southeast Asia, China is definitely drawing the short straw, despite efforts such as the 72-hour visa-free transit policy now in place in a number of cities, designed to lure international visitors for short stays and perhaps entice them to return.

The boom in domestic tourism

What many might be surprised to learn is that Chinese tour operators and hotels aren't exactly concerned about the shortfall. Foreign tourists spend more than domestic tourists but they make up only a small share of the market. But the guiding principle of a robust domestic market, which Beijing would like to see in every sector of the economy, already underpins tourism. Some 2 billion Chinese a year take their vacations in their home country. And several times a year, such as during the Golden Weeks in May and October, the annual spring festival, and Chinese New Year - which will be celebrated on February 18 - millions of people give the tourist sector a boost and take holidays.

Overseas tour operators can't complain either. They, too, are profiting from the Chinese population's increasing wanderlust. Two years ago, 93 million Chinese traveled abroad, and their numbers rose to 120 million last year. Tourist numbers are set to see a double-digit increase every year. More international tourists hail from China than from anywhere else in the world, and, moreover, they spend the most. For the past two years, Chinese tourists have been spending $128 billion annually on their travels, more even than the Americans and the Germans, the world's biggest spenders until 2012 at $83.8 billion.

The bottom line is that foreign tourists are a drop in the ocean of the Chinese tourist industry. Their numbers are down all over the world - with the result that their hosts no longer cater to their likes and dislikes quite as much.