Visitors to Japan in Jan.-Nov. Top Yearly High

Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Jiji Press)–The number of foreign visitors to Japan in January-November is estimated to have totaled 39,065,600, already exceeding the annual record high of about 36.87 million marked last year, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. The 11-month figure grew 17.0 pct from a year earlier, putting the full-year tally on track to exceed 40 million for the first time. In November alone, the estimated number of foreign visitors rose 10.4 pct to 3,518,000. Meanwhile, the monthly number of visitors from mainland China grew at the slowest pace this year, rising only 3.0 pct to 562,600, the lowest figure so far this year. This reflects Beijing’s call for Chinese citizens to avoid visiting Japan, amid heightened tensions between the two countries over Taiwan. At a press conference on Wednesday, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Shigeki Murata noted “very strong growth” in the number of visitors from Europe, the United States, Australia and Middle Eastern countries. Regarding Beijing’s warning against traveling to Japan, Murata said, “We will continue to closely monitor the situation.” The number of visitors from South Korea in November rose 10.0 pct to 824,500, the largest figure by country or region. China came second, Taiwan third with 542,400, up 11.1 pct, and the United States fourth with 302,500, up 22.2 pct. Visitors from Hong Kong, which has also warned against traveling to Japan, decreased 8.6 pct. The number of visitors from mainland China came to about 8.76 million from January to November, and they spent about 1,644.3 billion yen from January to September. Both figures accounted for over 20 pct of the respective totals. According to the Japan Research Institute, if Chinese people continue to refrain from visiting Japan, spending by foreign visitors in Japan is estimated to decrease by 2.3 trillion yen over the next three years. The Japanese government aims to boost the annual number of foreign visitors to 60 million by 2030, but travel destinations across the country are struggling with overtourism. The government and ruling parties are considering raising the departure tax for people leaving the country and using some of the revenue to address overtourism. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]