Visitors to Japan in Jan.-June Down for 1st Time in 5 Years

Tokyo, July 15 (Jiji Press)–The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in January-June fell 2.0 pct from a year before to 21,084,800, down for the first time in five years, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday. Although the first-half visitor tally topped 20 million for the second straight year, the decline was due to a slump in Chinese visitors following the Chinese government’s call for its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. Of the first-half total, 2,058,200 visitors came from mainland China, down 56.4 pct, 5,675,100 from South Korea, up 18.6 pct, and 3,972,200 from Taiwan, up 20.9 pct. In June alone, the estimated number of inbound visitors dropped 6.8 pct from a year before to 3,148,600, the third straight monthly decrease. The number of visitors from China decreased for the seventh successive month. On the other hand, the numbers of visitors from South Korea and Taiwan hit respective June record highs. Meanwhile, the Japan Tourism Agency said the same day that spending by foreign visitors increased 0.2 pct from a year before to 2,509.6 billion yen in the April-June quarter. Spending per visitor rose 3.3 pct to 244,457 yen, setting a quarterly record high. Hotel operator Mori Trust Co. estimates that the annual number of foreign visitors to Japan will total around 40.50 million to 42 million in 2026, below last year’s record high of 42.68 million. According to the company, hotel bookings are robust for summer and autumn, although airlines raised fuel surcharges for international flights in response to turmoil in the Middle East. Mori Trust President and CEO Miwako Date said, “(Reservations) are unlikely to decrease drastically, and on the contrary, the weak yen has a strong (positive) impact (on reservations).” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]