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Japan
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Japan’s inbound travel sector expects bumper year, as tourist numbers approach pre-pandemic levels

  • Japanese government data showed more than 25 million foreign tourists arrived in the country in 2023, more than six times the number from the previous year
  • The relatively low price of travel to and within Japan has also caused an increase in budget travellers

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More than 25 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan in 2023, more than six times the number in the previous year. Photo: Bloomberg
Julian Ryall
Japan’s inbound travel sector is anticipating a bumper year ahead, with ski resorts packed through the winter sports season, hotels in major destinations similarly full and operators having to look further afield for unique experiences to meet the desires of a new generation of adventurous visitors.

The optimism comes following last week’s report from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) that showed 25.07 million foreign tourists arrived in the country in 2023, more than six times the number from the previous year.

That is still be below the record 31.88 million of pre-pandemic 2019, but the number of arrivals in both November and December 2023 surpassed the same months in 2019.

Similarly, positive was the news that foreign tourists spent 5.29 trillion yen (US$35.57 billion) in 2023, surpassing the 5 trillion yen annual figure for the first time and breaking the previous record, of 4.8 trillion yen, reported in 2019.

And that has left the industry confident that 2024 will set records.

“Japan was extremely late to open up because the government put the coronavirus on the same level of danger as Ebola until May of last year, so there has been a really good recovery when you think that Japan has only been fully open for nine months,” said Naomi Mano, president and CEO of high-end inbound travel firm Luxurique.

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