Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reported that international visitors to Japan were up 24% year on year to 2,295,700 in January 2017, which were the second most for January following January 2016.
The growth mainly resulted from Chinese New Year holidays started in the end of January, JNTO analyzed. In addition, an increase in cruise ships, extension of air network and successive promotion campaigns boosted the market.
The table below shows change of international visitors to Japan for the past year:
The top market in 2016 was China with 630,600 visitors (+32.7%), followed by Korea with 625,400 (+21.5%). The growth rates were found in Malaysia (+73.9%) and Indonesia (+63.8%). Visitors from Korea and Australia (+9%) were record-high on a single month basis.
JNTO has forecasted that the growth will be slow in February due to the end of Chinese New Year holidays, however an increase in cruise shops and popularity of winter sports will prop up the market.
