JNTO says that average spending per visitor is about 30 pc higher than before the pandemic, driven in part by repeat travellers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia
Japan welcomed a record number of visitors in December, closing out a year of rapid recovery from the pandemic.
According to latest reports by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), the number of foreign visitors for business and leisure soared to 2.73 million in December from 2.44 million in November.
It says that this was the highest-ever number of tourists for the month of December and about 8 pc higher than the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019. Overall in 2023, a little more than 25 million visitors arrived in Japan.
JNTO says inbound tourism has become a key part of Japan’s economic recovery, but a severe shortage of workers is hobbling the sector’s ability to keep up with demand.
Tourism to Japan all but halted for more than two years during the pandemic as the country put up some of the world’s strictest border controls. But arrivals bounced back quickly after the government resumed visa-free travel for many countries in October 2022. JNTO says arrivals exceeded 2 million every month since June last year, boosted by a weakening in the yen that makes Japan cheaper compared to other destinations.
“Visitors this year are likely to break 2019’s record of 31.9 million, but tourist spending last year may have already reached the government’s goal of 5 trillion yen (USD 33.81 billion). Spending levels are very high nowadays,” says Teppei Kawanishi, General Manager at travel industry consultancy Honichi Lab.
JNTO adds that average spending per visitor is about 30 pc higher than before the pandemic, driven in part by repeat travellers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other parts of Asia. December saw record arrivals for any single month among people from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia.
That is helping to compensate for a slow recovery in visitors from mainland China, who made up nearly a third of all visitors and 40 pc of all tourist spending in Japan in 2019. The number of Chinese travellers in December was still 56 pc below pre-pandemic levels, the statement adds.
