2008.08.17
January - June 2008 Foreign Visitors to Japan Set Record
Record number of foreign tourists visit Japan in January-June 2008 period (2008.07.28, Japan Economic News)
In 2007, 8.35 million foreign tourists visited Japan. According to data released today by the Japan National Tourist Organization, the first half of 2008 saw about 4.33 million foreign tourists enter the country, which was a 10% gain on 2007 figures.
The Japanese government has very clearly stated its goal to continue seeing an increase in the number of tourists coming to Japan from foreign shores. As we covered previously, the government has set targets of 10 million visitors by 2010 and 20 million by 2020.
In terms of numbers, visitors from South Korea made up the largest group, with 1.32 million visiting Japan from January to June That figure was up 8.1% on the year. The largest percentage rise was seen from Hong Kong, which sent an increase of 36.7% more travelers, to hit 267,000.
The JNTO tells us that more travelers from Europe, and especially France (+9.8%) and Germany (+7.9%), are visiting Japan. Part of this is surely due to the strength of the euro versus the yen. On the other hand, the number of travelers from the US fell by 0.5%, from 403,220 to 401,300. This is actually a smaller fall than most likely would have been expected.
On the other hand, in June the number of Japanese traveling overseas fell by 7.2%. That was the fourteenth consecutive month in which the number of Japanese heading abroad has declined.
