New record! In May alone, 2.6 million foreign tourists visited Japan
Thursday, June 21, 2018
A 16% increase from last year and a record for the month of May
Japan Tourism Agency informed the press yesterday: the number of foreign tourists in Japan has been estimated to 2,675,000 in May, a all-time high!
The numbers had been boosted by the intra-Asia tourism. Around 25% of these foreign visitors came from China, and a little bit less for South Korea (23.9%), followed by Taiwan (16.4%) and Hong Kong (7.1%).
For 2018, Japan has already hosted more than 13,194,400 foreign visitors from January to May, and it is a windfall for Japanese companies.
Along with the number of international visitors, their spending are increasing too, 17.2% from January to March compared to the previous year. This increase is accompanied by Japan Tourism Agency's efforts to have a total of 20,000 tax-free shops at the end of the year.
However, with the new rules about Airbnb put in application from this month, the occupancy rates of hotels and lodgings are preoccupying. Osaka has the Japan's highest booking rate with resorts hotels booked over 95%, city hotels over 90% and business hotels near 85%.
