Japan Bound
Narita Airport recovered international flight passengers to 70% of the pre-pandemic level in 2023 due to surge in inbound travelers
Narita International Airport passengers in 2023 was up 12% year on year to 32.7 million, out of which international flight passengers were up 77% to 25 million. Inbound travelers were up 270% year on year to 16 million (down 12% over 2019).
ANA signs a strategic partnership with Trip.com Group to increase Chinese travelers to Japan, opening a flagship shop on its website and app
ANA has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Trip.com Group to increase travelers from China to Japan, opening a flagship shop and deliver LIVE commerce on Trip.com website and app.
Japanese regions ranks 3rd to 10th in the latest top 10 destinations attracting Asian travelers
According to Booking.com, among top 10 destinations that are still unknown but are getting popularity among Asian travelers, Japanese regions ranks 3rd to 10th. Top was Camariñas in Spain, followed by Mexico, Missouri, USA.
Spending in Japan by international travelers in 2023 reached record-high 5.3 trillion JPY
Spending in Japan by international travelers in 2023 increased by 9.9% to record-high 5,292 billion JPY compared to 2019. Taiwan was the top source market with 778.6 billion JPY.
Japan welcomed more than 25 million international visitors in 2023, 80% of the pre-pandemic level
The number of international visitors in Japan 2023 reached 25,066,100, almost 80% of the result in 2019 (31,882,049), adding 2,734,000 in December 2023. Compared to 2022, more than 20 million increased at once.
185 famous restaurants in Kyoto City work together to offer winter-limited menus with transparent prices for inbound travelers
185 famous restaurants in Kyoto City offer respective winter-limited menus with their transparent price ranges espeically for inbound travelers.
Guest nights in Japan by both Japanese and foreigners finally exceeded the pre-pandemic level for three consecutive months
Total number of guest nights in November 2023 (provisionally) was up 16.9% year on year to 53.6 million, which were up 7.9% compared to the same month of 2019. The share of foreigners’ guest nights was 22.8% of the total in October.
Tokyo Metro tests a new multi-language service transcribing voice station announcement on a smartphone without an app
Tokyo Metro and YAMAHA will begin testing a new multi-language service ‘Visualized Announcement’ transcribing voice announcements in a station on a smartphone.
Free telephone interpretation service is provided for foreigners in Japan devastated by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake
BRIDGE MULTILINGUAL SOLUTIONS has provided ‘free telephone interpretation service’ for foreigners living in Japan who have devastated by Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JTB estimates the most-ever inbound travelers of 33.1 million to Japan in 2024, but outbound travelers are still expected to recover slowly
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers in 2024 are expected to reach 287.5 million, and the number of inbound travelers will reach the most-ever 33.1 million, 31.3% more than a year ago or 3.8% more than 2019.
International arrivals in Japan already exceeded 20 million, adding 2.4 million in November 2023
The number of international visitors in Japan in November 2023 reached 2,440,800, close to 2,441,274 in November 2019, totaling 22.3 million for the first 11 months of 2023.
The most-searched tourist spot on navigation app NAVITIME Japan in 2023 was Universal Studio Japan for two years in a row
According to NAVITIME Japan, a Japan’s leading navigation app, the most-searched tourist spot in 2023 was ‘Universal Studio Japan.' For foreigners, the top was ‘Fushimi Inari Taisha' in Kyoto.
A Japanese e-ticket management system provider partners Sapporo City to promote business jet tours at Okadama Airport
Japanticket, an e-ticket management system provider, and Sapporo City signed a partnership agreement on promotion of business jet operation at Okadama Airport. Japanticket has performed several trial gastronomy tours using made-in-Japan HondaJet.
Hankyu a major Japanese travel agent, and NAVITIME JAPAN work together to develop tours for inbound luxury travelers
Hankyu Travel International, a major travel company of Japan, and NAVITIME JAPAN, a navigation app provider, will jointly develop tours for luxury inbound travelers.
Japan National Tourism Organization launches a special website for Osaka Kansai EXPO, encouraging inbound travelers to visit local areas
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) launched a special website for the Osaka Kansai Expo, expecting the Expo is an opportunity to encourage inbound tourists to visit regional areas.
‘U.S.-Japan Tourism Year 2024’ is launched to strengthen tourism and business exchanges between the two countries
Japan and U.S. signed a memorandum of cooperation designating 2024 as the ‘U.S.-Japan Tourism Year’ to strengthen tourism and business exchanges between U.S. and Japan, hoping to return Japan to the number two spot in terms of number of visitors to U.S.
Expedia Japan says the most bookings for Japan are seen in U.S., and as a whole Shinjyuku is particularly preferred as an area to stay
According to Expedia Japan, the most bookings for Japan are seen in U.S. for Q3 of 2023, followed by Australia, Singapore, U.K. Shinjyuku was the top area to stay in eight out of 10 countries and regions.
Tokyo Ota creates a digital SENTO (public bathhouse) experience tour for foreign travelers arriving in Haneda Airport
Digital SENTO(public bathhouse) experience tour for foreign travelers who arrive in Haneda Airport located in Ota area is developed as a Japan’s unique tourism attraction.
International arrivals in Japan were 2.51 million in October 2023, finally exceeding the pre-pandemic level
The number of international visitors in Japan in October 2023 was up 0.8% to 2,516,500 compared to October 2019 (2,496,568), exceeding the 2019 level for the first time since the pandemic happened.
Guest nights in Japan by both Japanese and foreigners finally exceeded the pre-pandemic level in September 2023
Guest nights by Japanese travelers and foreigner travelers in September 2023 were respectively up 0.6% to 40.7 million and up 15.4% to 9.5 million compared to the same month of 2019.