In keeping with Japan’s Nationwide Tourism Group (JNTO), international customer arrivals in March 2024 reached a file excessive of three,081,600, representing a 69.5% improve from the earlier month. That is the primary time the variety of guests has exceeded 3 million in a single month, surpassing the earlier file of two,991,819 set in July 2019.
The attract of Japan’s cherry blossom season and the yen’s fast depreciation performed a pivotal position in driving up the variety of international guests this yr. Regardless of the delayed begin of the season on March 29 in Tokyo and Kyoto, the demand for visits to Japan surged, significantly from South Korea, Taiwan, and Western international locations, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 pandemic stage.
With the continual inflow of holiday makers, the Japanese authorities’s formidable objective of surpassing the earlier annual file of 31.9 million international guests, set in 2019, by 2025, could also be inside attain before anticipated, probably even this yr.
South Korea has the best variety of vacationers visiting Japan, with 663,100 guests, adopted by Taiwan, 484,400 guests. China is available in third with 452,400 individuals, with the variety of vacationers from China returning to 65% of the pre-pandemic stage. Within the meantime, the variety of guests from america elevated by 64.3% from March 2019 to 290,100 and from the Philippines by 63.2% to 78,800.
In keeping with current knowledge from JNTO, international guests spent a record-breaking 1,750.5 billion yen (10.5 billion euros) between January and March 2024. On common, every customer spent 208,760 yen (1,250 euros), the best quarterly quantity ever recorded. This improve in spending is attributed to a mixture of things, corresponding to a weak yen, rising costs, and longer common stays.
Relating to spending by nation and area, Australia tops the checklist with 373,000 yen (2,230 euros) spent per particular person, adopted by Nice Britain with 367,000 yen and Spain with 352,000 yen.
