This paper analyses the relationship between air pollution and tourism demand in Beijing. The study method is based on a gravity model, in which air quality variables are incorporated into the model of tourism demand. The results obtained show that air pollution has a negative influence on tourism flows and that this effect is more pronounced for inbound than for domestic tourism. The findings also show that a simple index such as the classification of good and bad air‐quality days is a good representation of the air pollution factors taken into account by tourists in their travel decision.