According to the latest news released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on the 17th, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in March this year reached 3,081,600, an increase of 69.5% over the same period last year.
It is worth mentioning that this figure also increased by 11.6% compared to March 2019, before the pandemic, and set a record for the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in a single month.
According to reports, in addition to the steady growth of tourists from South Korea and Taiwan Province of China, the number of tourists from the United States, the Philippines and other regions has also increased significantly compared with before the outbreak of the epidemic.
Of the 24 regions surveyed, 17 regions, including Vietnam, India, the United States, Germany, Italy, and South Korea, recorded the highest number of visitors to Japan in March. This has also led to a record number of tourists overall.
Among foreign tourists visiting Japan in March, South Korea continued to rank first with 663,100 visitors, up 13.2% from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
Taiwan Province of China ranked second with 484,400 people, up 20.4% from the same period in 2019.
This was followed by Chinese mainland with 452,400 people, a decrease of 34.6% compared to March 2019.
In addition, data from the Japan Tourism Agency showed that from January to March this year, the amount of foreign tourists spending in Japan increased by 52% compared to 2019 before the pandemic, reaching 1.7505 trillion yen, and the average travel expenditure per person was 209,000 yen, which also hit a record high in the quarter.
It is worth mentioning that although the number of tourists from Chinese mainland is not the largest, the total consumption occupies the first place with 352.6 billion yen (20.1%).
In terms of expenditure items, accommodation expenses accounted for the largest proportion of 32.1%, followed by shopping expenses (29.2%) and food and beverage expenses (21.7%).
According to reports, the main reasons for the increase in foreign tourists visiting Japan are the continued depreciation of the yen and the cherry blossom season in March. That's why many people come to Japan specifically to enjoy cherry blossoms.