China lags behind in inbound tourism

The inbound tourism market should look to improving its quality rather than just increasing quantity, he added.

Chinese destinations should understand more about inbound tourists' demands and characteristics in order to make promotions more effective.

Chinese traditional culture, history and natural scenery are still the biggest draws for foreign travelers, according to Google's report but travelers from different countries also have their own preferences. For example, Japanese travelers pay more attention to the natural scenery while travelers from the US are interested in culture and history.

Leisure travelers form the majority of China's inbound visitors at 79 percent, but business travelers have about a 20 percent bigger budget for accommodation, Google said.

"Chinese destinations can target different groups of inbound visitors," said Tang.

Google also suggested tourism agents should pay more attention to the Internet for promotional purposes because while the tourism industry is already an important client for Google globally, it is in its infancy in China.