Japan remains a top winter destination for international visitors (Photo: JNTO)
Japan has registered a 47 pc rise in the number of international tourists in 2024, with 36.87 million arrivals as compared to 25.07 million visitors in the previous year.
According to figures released by Japan National Tourist Organisation (JNTO), the country received 3.49 million foreign tourists in December 2024, a growth of about 27.6 pc over the same month in the previous year.
Through the year, the growth in Japan’s tourism sector was propelled almost single-handedly by China, as the number of Chinese visitors to the country spiked almost three-times, from barely 2.4 million in 2023 to almost 7 million in 2024.
South Korea, however, remained the largest source market, with 8.8 million visitors in 2024, a relatively modest growth of 26.7 pc over the previous year. Following China, in the third place was Taiwan, which accounted for 6.04 million visitors, a 43.8 pc rise over the 2023 figure. The United States, with over 2.72 million and Hong Kong, with 2.68 million visitors, accounted for the last two of the top five source markets for Japan, according to JNTO data.
Though India remains a relatively small market for Japan, with 233,000 visitors in 2024, the number of Indian visitors to the East Asian nation have been rising rapidly.
In December 2024, 17,000 Indians travelled to Japan, marking a 25.8 pc rise as compared to December 2023. In full year 2024, the number of Indian visitors rose by 40 pc from about 166,000 in 2023 to 233,000, says JNTO.
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