Destination desolation

A tourist in a traditional Korean attire poses in front of a painting. [Photo/Xinhua]

Singapore is the most developed Southeast Asian destination to suffer from the tapering off of Chinese visitors. But industry insiders say that has more to do with Chinese policy than Singapore's positioning as a gateway to other destinations.

"With China exercising closer scrutiny on official government junkets and corruption, Singapore has lost some attraction," Choe explains.

"Gambling was a big draw."

King says Southeast Asian countries have "adopted separate approaches" to deal with the drop.

"Singapore has presented itself in China as a single standalone destination as a means of distinguishing itself from the trouble occurring in neighboring Malaysia," he says.

Chinese tourism to Malaysia dropped 9 percent to 850,877 between January and June compared with the same period of 2013, following years of growth, Tourism Malaysia's general director Dato' Mirza Mohammad Taiyab says.

He believes the dip to be temporary.

Malaysia has responded by studying Chinese travel preferences according to regions and is tailoring marketing according to specific locations, he explains. It's also staging social media campaigns focused on safety; introducing new products and packages; developing charter flights; and marketing more toward second- and third-tier cities.