A total of 288,909 international tourists reached Japan in October, scoring 15 times higher numbers compared to the same time in 2021.
The reports followed the announcement of the government to remove almost all restrictions related to COVID-19 on October 11, which has proven to be positive news for the tourism sector.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, around 1,900 tourists used to visit Japan daily, but ever since the government lifted restrictions on daily arrivals and the ban on individuals and non-prearranged trips, those numbers surged to 12,900 in a ten-day period alone (from October 1 to October 10), VisaGuide.World reports.
As of October 10, international tourists are no longer required to travel on package tours, as the Japanese government has lifted its restrictions introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, as the Foreign Ministry points out, citizens of 68 countries that have a visa-free travel agreement with Japan can visit the country.
Based on the data from the Immigration Services Agency of Japan, the number of international tourists to Japan in November was 140,315.
“Many tourist destinations are crowded with more travellers than the same period last year,” the Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Tetsuo Saito said at a press conference.
Before the pandemic outbreak, Japan used to receive over two million international students.
Data from Japan Tourism Agency reveals that the total number of overnight guests in December 2018 was 41.7 million, which is up from 3.7 per cent in the same month in the previous year. In the following month – January 2019, the total number of guests spending overnight stays stood at 38.6 million – up from eight per cent from the previous year.
The total number of overnight guests in 2018 was 509 million, which decreased by 0.1 percent from the previous year while the number of domestic guests was 420,4 million, which also dropped by 2.2 per cent compared to last year.
A previous report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals that the sector is expected to generate the country ¥40 trillion by the end of 2023 – standing behind 2019 levels by only 2.2 percent below. Additionally, WTTC forecasts that employment will exceed pre-pandemic levels, with 23,000 jobs being recovered, totalling up to 5.8 million by the end of 2022.
“While employment levels in the sector are expected to grow at a slower rate (1.9 percent), by the end of this year, more than 5.6 million will work in the sector,” the report explains.
Before the pandemic outbreak, tourism contribution to the national economy was 7.3 percent, dropping to 3.5 percent or ¥18.4 trillion in 2020, accounting for an evident loss of 54.8 percent.
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