Beijing’s persistent smog seems to have put a dent in the city’s appeal to tourists. Last year, Beijing Youth Daily reported that the number of visitors to Beijing had fallen 50 percent in the first nine months of 2013, compared with a year earlier; the newspaper attributed the decline, at least in part, to the city’s infamously bad air quality. Hiring managers in China also report greater difficulty (subscription required) attracting mid-career expats to Beijing, especially those with young children.

The blanket of toxic smog hasn’t hurt Beijing’s office market, which jumped up three notches on a global ranking by Cushman & Wakefield to become the fourth-most-expensive location to rent office space in the world. According to the real estate firm’s “Office Space Around the World 2014” report, office space in Beijing’s Central Business District costs on average 1,027 ($1,412) per square meter per year.

That’s more expensive than No. 5-ranked central Tokyo (1,003; $1,380) or No. 6-ranked Madison & Fifth Avenues in New York (Euros; $1,366). Cushman & Wakefield’s rankings took into consideration both published rental rates and “additional costs,” which includes agent fees and other costs of doing business.

London (West End) remains the world’s most expensive city in which to rent office space, with total costs running 2,122 ($2,919) per sq. m. annually. Hong Kong, home to the priciest office space in Asia, came in second globally (1,432; $1,970). Moscow ranked third (1,092; $1,502).

The cities included in the ranking that experienced the highest annual growth in office rental rates were both in South Africa: Rental rates in Durban’s Central Business District spiked 40 percent, and rates in Sandton, the financial district of Johannesburg, rose 44 percent.

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北京持续不退的雾霾使来京旅行的游人减少。去年，《北京青年报》报道，2013年的前九个月北京的游客数量较去年同期下降了50%。该报认为，至少在某种程度上，游客数量下降应归咎于北京糟糕的空气质量。中国人事部经理报告说，吸引外籍人士（特别是有小孩的处于职业生涯中期的人）到北京也更加困难了。

然而，有毒雾霾的笼罩并没有对北京写字楼市场造成影响，北京写字楼市场在高纬物业的全球排名靠近前第三名，成为第四贵的写字楼租赁点。根据房地产公司的“2014世界写字楼市场行情”报告，北京中央商务区的办公区每年每平方米平均花费1027欧元(1412美元)。

它比排名第五的东京市中心（1380美元）及排名第六的纽约第五大道和麦迪逊（1366美元）贵。高纬物业（Cushman & Wakefield）的排名是考虑了已公布的租金率和“额外费用”（其中包括代理费用和其他业务成本）的。

伦敦（西区）仍然是世界上最昂贵的写字楼租赁地点，每年每平方米2122欧元(2919美元)。亚洲最贵的写字楼在香港，在全球排第二位（1432欧元；1432美元）。莫斯科排名第三（1092欧元；1092美元）。

排名册中，办公室租金年增长率最高的城市都在南非。德班中央商务区的租金飙升了40%，而在桑顿——约翰内斯堡的金融区，增长了44%。