News
Kyoto City raises accommodation tax to 10,000 yen at most, expecting tax revenue of 12.6 billion yen a year
Kyoto City plans to raise accommodation tax from currently 200 to 1,000 yen a night to10,000 yen a night at most, The proposed new tax rule are divided into five categories.
Japanese outbound travelers resulted in 13 million in 2024, about 70% of 2019
The number of Japanese outbound travelers in 2024 was up 35.2% year on year to 13 million, 35.2% fewer travelers than 2019. In December 2024 only, Japanese outbound travelers were down 30.7% to 1,187,200 compared to December 2019.
Tourism spending in Japan by international visitors exceeded 8 trillion yen in 2024, breaking the previous record in 2019
The total amount of tourism spending in Japan by international visitors increased by 69.2% to record-high 8.1 trillion yen compared to 2019. Spending per visitor was up 43.3% to 227,000 yen. The top market was China with 1.7 trillion yen.
International visitors to Japan resulted in record-high 37 million in 2024, 5 million more visitors than 2019
The number of international visitors to Japan in 2024 reached record-high 36.9 million, 15.6% more visitors than the previous record of 31.9 million in 2019, adding 3.5 million in December 2024.
AI suggests travel plans to avoid over-crowd in Hakone, a famous hot spring resort in Japan, developed by a local DMO and University of Tokyo
AI-based travel planning service ‘Hako Tabi’ is available in Hakone, a famous onsen resort in Japan, developed by a University of Tokyo startup ‘EasyX’ and local Hakone DMO.
Record-high 82 taxi companies went bankrupt in Japan in 2024 mainly because of shortage of drivers and rise in fuel cost
According to Teikoku Data Bank, the number of bankrupted taxi companies in a debt of more than 10 million yen in Japan was record-high 82, more than the previous record of 73 in 2019.
Japan Tourism Agency Director talks about how Japan tries to overcome over-tourism
Kenji Hamamoto, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) International Tourism Department Director, talked about over-tourism in Japan in the interview with Travel Voice. He emphasized that over-tourism is not 'tourism pollution.
Shizuoka Bank and Yamanashi Chuo Bank create high-valued package tours for luxury travelers from Philippines
Local banks in Shizuoka and Yamanashi sell package tours for the prefectures to Philippines BDO credit card and debit card members, offering high-valued itineraries touring tourist contents including Mt. Fuji for luxury travelers.
JTB forecasts Japanese travelers are expected to be up 2.9% to 320 million in 2025, while international visitors be up 8.9% to 40 million
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers in 2025 is expected to increase by 2.9% year on year to 319 million in total, and International visitors to Japan are estimated at 402 million, 8.9% more visitors than 2024.
A new 24-hours online service connecting between foreigners staying in a hotel and a doctor is launched in Japan
A new online medical treatment service ‘Hotel de Doctor 24’ for foreigners staying in a hotel who are concerned about health conditions during traveling in Japan is ready for operation.
Interests in Osaka Kansai EXPO don’t rise in Japan, but more young people intend to visit several times
According to Mitsubishi Research Institute (MRI), the ratio of interests in Osaka Kansai EXPO 2025 remained at the same level, but the ratio of intension to visit the EXPO several times increased from 15% previously to 18.8%.
The duty-free procedure will be shifted to ‘refund method’ on November 1 2026, abolishing the maximum amount of a purchase
The current duty-free procedure in Japan will change to ‘refund method’ on November 1 2026 to improve conveniences for international visitors to Japan and reduce workloads of duty-free shops.
Japan Tourism Agency budget draft for FY2025 is up 5% to 53 billion yen, newly requesting a digital nomad promotion program
A budget draft for Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) for FY2025 totals 53 billion yen, 5.4% more budget draft than the FY2024 budget, promoting Osaka Kansai EXPO as a chance to send inbound tourists to local areas.
Japanese government eases visa rules for Chinese travelers, including a new 10-years-valid multiple visa and extension of stays in Japan
Japan has decided to ease visa rules for Chinese travelers, newly launching 10-years-valid multiple tourist visa for Chinese travelers and extension of valid stays for group tourist visa.
The most-satisfied hotel loyalty programs are Marriott Bonvoy globally and Toyoko INN in Japan
J.D. Power Japan conducted a survey on hotel loyalty program satisfaction for global brands and domestic brands in Japan. Tops are Marriott Bonvoy in global brands and Toyoko INN Club Card in domestic brands.
More than 60% of Japanese use smartphones for booking or purchasing travel contents
According to the JTB Tourism Research & Consulting’s survey, the ratio of people who use a smartphone for booking or purchasing travel contents is 60% or higher, 3.3 higher points than a year ago.
International conferences in Japan were up 2.5 times in 2023 with more in-person than hybrid for the first time since 2020
The number of international conferences in Japan was up 2.5 times year on yea to 1,376 in 2023. In-person conferences were 736, accounting for 53% of the total, more than hybrid conferences for the first time since 2020.
Japanese outbound travelers in November 2024 were 1.18 million, still down 30% compared to 2019
The number of Japanese outbound travelers was up 14.4% year on year to 1,175,100 in November 2024, but still down 28.4% compared to the same month 2019.
International visitors to Japan reached 33.4 million in November 2024, already exceeding the annual record of 31.9 million in 2019
The number of international visitors to Japan in November 2024 reached record-high 3,187,000 for November, totaled 33.4 million visitorsfor the first 11 months, already exceeding the annual record of 31.9 million in 2019.
Co-Founders of local experience booking platform ‘GetYourGuide’ talk about how they expect the Japanese market and why
GetYourGuide co-founders, Johannes Reck and Tao Tao talked about the Japanese market and partnership with suppliers, expecting that Japan continues being one of the most popular destination on its platform.
