Japan welcomed 37 million tourists in 2024
Travel Biz News —
A total of 36.78 million foreigners visited Japan in 2024 , receiving boosts from a weak yen and an increase in regular international flight services to the country, government estimates showed.
The total exceeded the previous record of 31.19 million logged in 2019 by around 5.59 million people, according to the Immigration Services Agency’s statistics dating back to 1950.
Tourism and business trips accounted for the majority of visits at around 33.36 million.Entries by those on student visas followed at around 170,000.
Some 150,000 people entered Japan on a technical intern training visa, down 19 percent from the previous year, while entrants with visas for specified skilled workers, launched in 2019 to compensate for labor shortages in Japan, increased 48 percent to around 60,000.
By country and region, people from South Korea made up the largest group at around 8.63 million, followed by entrants from Taiwan at around 5.69 million, some 5.49 million from China and about 2.67 million from the United States.
The number of Japanese nationals who went overseas in 2024 increased to 13.01 million, up 35 percent from the previous year, but the figure was far lower than the record 20.08 million logged in 2019.
Similarly , foreign tourists spent a total of 8.14 trillion yen on accommodation, shopping and other expenses in 2024, surpassing the previous record of 5.31 trillion yen set in 2023, preliminary figures from the Japan Tourism Agency showed.
The largest portion of total spending at 33.6 percent, or 2.74 trillion yen, went on accommodation, followed by shopping expenses at 29.5 percent and dining at 21.5 percent.
Visitors to Japan spent around 227,000 yen per person on average, with Britons spending the most at around 383,000 yen, closely followed by Australians at 382,000 yen and Spaniards at 370,000 yen.
Tourism spending is now second only to the 17.2 trillion yen generated by automobile exports in 2023, surpassing the 5.4 trillion yen from semiconductors and 4.5 trillion yen from steel, according to the Finance Ministry’s trade statistics.
The government aims to attract 60 million visitors a year and increase their annual spending to 15 trillion yen by 2030, but faces issues related to overtourism and labor shortages in the hospitality sector.
Efforts are also under way to attract more high-end travelers as well as encourage visitors to venture beyond major cities by improving access to regional airports. ( Source : Kyodo )
March 3 , 2025
Image : Tourists pose for photographs in front of the Senso-ji temple’s Kaminari-mon gate in Tokyo’s Asakusa area on Jan. 15, 2025. (Kyodo)
