Environmental issues such as poor air quality and water pollution have turned away inbound tourists during the first quarter of the year, according to the Chinese tourism authority.

The number of overseas tourists to China was estimated at 31.66 million in the first three months, a drop of 1.8 percent compared with the same period last year, according to a report released on Tuesday by the China Tourism Academy, affiliated with China National Tourism Administration.

Chen Xu, a researcher from the academy, added that the revenue brought by overseas tourists was about $11.3 billion, a 3 percent drop from last year.