He had expected this year, with Beijing's hosting of the Olympic Games, to give a big boost to his business, if not maintain its turnover.

"Who could have guessed it would be so difficult this year?"

Many believe the rare blizzards that covered southern regions in winter, the deadly quake that hit Sichuan province on May 12 and the floods that subsequently struck parts of the country, have all cast a psychological shadow on the minds of domestic tourists and given them second thoughts about traveling.

"When the Sichuan earthquake struck, many people just lost the interest to travel," said Zhang Lingjie, deputy general manager of the domestic tourism department with China International Travel Service (CITS).

The inbound arrivals have also dropped significantly, due to a tightened visa policy in the run-up to the Olympic Games.

The two factors have combined to hit China's tourism industry, including business at scenic spots, travel services, airlines and hotels.

Guizhou, for example, reported a significant drop in inbound arrivals, at 30 to 40 percent, said Zhou Xiaofeng from the marketing division of the Guizhou tourism bureau.

"As far as I know, no major scenic spots in the country have received more tourists after the quake than the same period last year," Zhang said.

The promotion of local tourism by high-level officials is said to reflect the urgency to restore confidence for domestic travel.

The campaigns have also reportedly won the support of senior government officials.

In Beijing, four travel promotions hosted by Hainan and Sichuan provinces, Lhasa and Hangzhou, have been staged in the past month.