Japan poised to meet Shinzo Abe’s target of 40 million foreign tourists in 2020
This was a nation that had welcomed a mere 7.1 million visitors in 2011, albeit a year dominated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan
When the Japanese government said in 2016 that it was doubling its target for foreign tourists in 2020 to 40 million, most people in the industry thought Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was setting his sights far too high. This was a nation that had welcomed a mere 7.1 million visitors in 2011, albeit a year dominated by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan.
They reasoned it would be impossible to hit 40 million arrivals, even if Tokyo had won the right to host the Olympic Games in the summer of 2020.
Today, most indicators suggest that the nation is on course to hit that ambitious target, Abe is looking likea visionary and the tourism industry has grown into a key driver of the economy – which is convenient for the government as it looks to nurture new sources of income away from more traditional industries.
On August 15, the number of foreign visitors to Japan eclipsed the 20 million mark, a full month earlier than it hit that figure in 2017 and there were hopes that the annual total would break the 30 million barrier. That looks slightly less likely now, after September’s figures were skewed by the biggest typhoon to come ashore in Japan in 25 years. Three days later, a major earthquake struck Hokkaido.
While those natural disaster underline how susceptible tourism is to the vagaries of Mother Nature, all the infrastructure that was affected was swiftly repaired and the authorities conveyed the message that it was business as usual for airports, sights, hotels and the rest of the sector.
“We did have a few rocky weeks because of the typhoon and then the earthquake, but people around the world know that Japan is capable of bouncing back from these difficult situations very quickly, they are used to it, and 2019 looks like it is going to be a very promising year for travel companies,” said Pankaj Pradhan, managing director of Tokyo-based travel company Beauty of Japan.
Cities across the country are looking to cash in on the influx of big-spending tourists, such as Yokohama, which will host a number of matches in next year’s Rugby World Cup, including the final, and is conveniently close to Tokyo for people attending the Olympic Games the following summer.
