The number of international travelers in Japan rose to nearly 500,000 in October, the first month it fully reopened to foreigners after more than two years of lockdown. This is more than double compared to September.
Japan lifted most entry restrictions on Oct. 11, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is counting on tourism to “recharge the economy” – especially as the yen hovers near a 32-year low against the dollar.
The number of foreign visitors, both tourist and business, rose to 498,600 in October, more than doubling September’s figure of 206,500 and up 20 times from the previous year. However, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, these figures are still 80 percent lower than in the successful 2019: 1.52 million foreign tourists arrived in 2022, and a record 31.8 million in 2019.
The Japanese premier said that the government intends to earn 5 trillion yen – 35.8 billion dollars – from tourism, however, according to experts, these are very optimistic goals. Hotel staff have shrunk by 22 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to government data, and service workers who have already found other jobs will be hard to lure back.
Another problem is the lack of Chinese tourists. A record 9.5 million Chinese visited Japan in 2019, about a third of all who entered the country. But due to the spread of COVID-19, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Tuesday that cross-border group travel is still suspended.
There are also encouraging trends. Online booking volumes grew by almost 16 times between January and October, driven mainly by tourists from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. The weak yen in this case helps Japan attract foreign currency.
The authorities of the Land of the Rising Sun said on Tuesday that they are ready to open ports for cruise ships from March 2023.
Japan closed to cruise ships after the Carnival Diamond Princess became one of the first hotbeds of coronavirus infections in early 2020.