The effect of air pollution on the development of inbound tourism is analyzed based on panel data for 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in mainland China from 2001 to 2015. The results show that air pollution is an obvious factor that hinders the development of inbound tourism in China. When the degree of air pollution increased by one percentage point, the level of development of inbound tourism dropped by 0. 309 percentage points. In the three time periods 2001-2005, 2006-2010 and 2011-2015, air pollution negatively affected the development of inbound tourism. Over time the negative impact of air pollution on the development of inbound tourism followed a stepwise increasing trend. Government intervention and tourism resource endowment inhibited the influence of air pollution on the development of inbound tourism. The provinces are divided into high pollution areas, higher pollution areas, lower pollution areas and low pollution areas. It was found that no matter what kind of air pollution areas are located, air pollution negatively influenced the development of inbound tourism. With increasing air pollution, the negative impact of air pollution on the development of inbound tourism was stronger. In policymaking process, governments at all levels in China should step up air pollution control strategies, adhere to the development path of green GDP, and moderately intervene in regional tourism development. Major tourist destinations should adhere to stricter standards to control air pollution and establish an air quality monitoring system and implement a global greening project to enhance air purification capabilities. Relevant agencies should closely monitor overseas media coverage of air pollution in China and establish an international air pollution warning, emergency response and guidance mechanism for minimizing China' s inbound tourism development resistance from air pollution.