Japan has welcomed record numbers of tourists in 2024 and spending figures to September are already more than in the whole of 2023.
Japanese visitor numbers are up by 54.7% to 26.9 million for the year to 30 September. In just the month of September, the number of foreign tourists exceeded September 2023 by 31.5%, reaching 2.87 million, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) says. Those arrivals reflect a wider pattern playing out since February, with record arrivals every month of the year, notably in July when a new all-time monthly record of 3.29 million was set. If the trend continues, Japan may be set to beat its 2019 visitor high.
Are there too many tourists in Japan?
The popularity of Japan as a destination has seen some of the country’s cities and attractions overwhelmed by tourist numbers. Some municipalities near Mount Fuji have put barriers in place to prevent jaywalking and discourage other anti-social behaviours by tourists desperate for the perfect photo of the iconic peak. Moreover, the most hiked Mount Fuji walking trails now come with entry gates and a fee to fund authorities’ efforts to manage the impact of so much footfall. A similar visitor tax has been applied to Japan’s famous floating red Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima. And in Kyoto signs have had to be installed telling tourists to give the city’s geisha community some space.
But the visitors keep coming and Ichiro Takahashi, Japan’s tourism commissioner intends to more than double their current numbers to 60 million a year. “It is a figure that we can very much achieve by making the right efforts,” he told the press earlier in 2024. “There are still many little-known places in Japan that are left unexplored by tourists from overseas – I believe Japan has infinite tourism resources.”
Source markets and tourism as an export
The top source country for September visitors to Japan was South Korea. An increase in charter flights means South Korea provided 656,700 of Japan’s tourists for the month, up 15%. Chinese visitors, 652,300 of them, were the next biggest group, followed by Taiwan which sent 470,600 visitors to Japan, up 22.2%. In fourth place, 191,900 US citizens visited the Land of the Rising Sun, up by 22.5%, the JNTO figures show.
In line with the increase in visitors, tourism spending is up too. The average visitor splashed out ¥223,000 (around €1,372) on accommodation, shopping and other travel expenses, according to data from July through September. Italians spent the most, followed by visitors from Spain and Russia.
Foreign visitors to Japan spent ¥5.8 trillion ($39 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024, beating the ¥5.3 trillion spent in 2023, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. The low yen has given visitors increased purchasing power and driven consumption to the extent that tourism, which is classed as an export in Japan, is now set to exceed revenues from electronics and take second place behind the car industry in the Japanese export ranks.