The outlook for tour operators in the Middle Kingdom is dim – thanks in part to the blanket of smog obscuring much of the country, notably its capital city.

According to a report released Monday by the China Tourism Academy, 129 million tourists visited the country in 2013, down 2.5% from the previous year. Meanwhile, the degree of satisfaction reported by tourists dropped by 11% in 2013 from the year prior, to “basically satisfied,” the report said.

Among the reasons the academy cited to explain the drop in tourist happiness was the “natural environment,” as well as levels of access for the disabled and water quality.

Such a decline in tourist numbers has occurred despite the government’s attempt to boost visits via the creation of 72-hour visa waivers for transit passengers. A similar attempt to boost tourism, the launch of the marketing campaign with the slogan “Beautiful China,” also failed to revive flagging enthusiasm—though beauty is famously in the eye of the beholder, it appears foreign tourists have yet to be convinced of any aesthetic appeal in the country’s hazard-level pall of smog.

The academy says that China remains the fourth-hottest travel destination in the world, after France, the U.S. and Spain. Still, it cautions that expectations for the country’s tourism industry should be tempered, with prospects for its development “uncertain and possibly worsening.” In particular, the report cited the weather and terrorism incidents as among factors that further complicate China’s appeal. In recent months, conflict between China’s Uighur ethnic minority and the Han majority have spilled over into civilian life, with violent attacks killing dozens of bystanders at sites ranging from train stations to public markets.