Japan welcomed 31.2 million visitors in 2018
Travel BizNews–
Tokyo : Japan welcomed 31.2 million visitors in 2018, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation .
The number of visitor arrivals to Japan has reached 31,191,900 in 2018. More than 8.3 million Chinese tourists visited Japan last year.
“This year, the number of international tourists visiting Japan exceeded 30 million for the first time. I wish to express my gratitude to everyone involved since the start of the Visit Japan Campaign in 2003 who has offered their support and cooperation in promoting inbound tourism to Japan. Looking back on this year, Japan experienced a number of natural disasters in succession such as earthquakes and torrential rains,” Satoshi Seino, the President of JNTO said.
“Although these events affected inbound tourism, Japan has recovered so rapidly , thanks to the nation-wide efforts . In order to achieve our goal of 40 million visitors by 2020, we will continue striving to expand inbound tourism to Japan,” he added.
Collectively the visitors, which include business people with limited-term stays, spent a record 4.5 trillion yen ($41.5 billion) in Japan, according to JNTO.
Chinese visitors were the biggest spenders, spending a whopping 1.54 trillion yen or just more than one third of total tourism outlay.
Japan is banking on international tourism to help boost its economy, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aiming to attract 40 million tourists by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the summer Olympic Games.
The focus on tourism was partly prompted by the country’s demographic crisis, as its shrinking population ages and consumption remains chronically weak. The growth in Japan’s tourism is also down to an expansion in low-cost carriers and increased cruise ship visits.
With inputs from JNTO and AFP
Image : Japan Travel
Jan 20 , 2019
