The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 3.14 million last month, says JNTO
Japan has set a record high for monthly visitors in June as its weak currency, JPY, fuelled a tourism boom that is becoming a key driver for the economy.
According to a press statement by Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO), the number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 3.14 million last month.
This exceeds the previous monthly record of 3.08 million set in March and is up from 3.04 million in May.
JNTO says that 17.78 million arrivals from January through June were also a record for a half-year period and on pace to smash through an annual record high of 31.9 million in 2019, before the pandemic shut global borders.
The statement says that spending by visitors is estimated to reach JPY 8 trillion (USD 50 billion) this year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, adding that the government needed to guard against ‘overtourism’.
JNTO says that the tourism industry is expected to become Japan’s second-biggest export sector in 2024, behind automobiles and ahead of electronic components.
With JPY sliding to a 38-year low against the USD, Japan has become an irresistible bargain for overseas travellers. Out of 23 markets tracked by the JNTO, travellers from 18 regions set new records for June arrivals.
The statement adds that visitors from Taiwan and the United States set their highest totals for any month.
JNTO adds that arrivals from mainland China in June were down 25 pc from the same month in 2019. While traveller spending has been a boon for the economy, the masses of people at visitor hotspots has rankled some locals and prompted concerns among policymakers.
The statement adds that crowded trails and increased littering on Japan’s sacred Mount Fuji this month prompted officials to impose admission fees and hiker limits for the first time.
Fumio Kishida
Officials have also suggested charging foreigners about six times the rate residents pay to enter the city’s famous samurai-era castle. Despite, the government is counting on tourism becoming a larger part of the nation’s economy.
Prime Minister Kishida reiterated a goal of nearly doubling annual visitors to 60 million and their spending to JPY 15 trillion by 2030. He adds that the government needs to build up regional airports and other infrastructure to handle the load.
“It is important to promote tourism to regional areas and take measures to prevent overtourism,” Kishida says.
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