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Record number of foreign tourists visit Japan in January-June 2008 period

July 28, 2008
By Ken Worsley


Japan TourismIn 2007, 8.35 million foreign tourists visited Japan. According to data released today by the Japan National Tourist Organization, the first half of 2008 saw about 4.33 million foreign tourists enter the country, which was a 10% gain on 2007 figures.

The Japanese government has very clearly stated its goal to continue seeing an increase in the number of tourists coming to Japan from foreign shores. As we covered previously, the government has set targets of 10 million visitors by 2010 and 20 million by 2020.

In terms of numbers, visitors from South Korea made up the largest group, with 1.32 million visiting Japan from January to June That figure was up 8.1% on the year. The largest percentage rise was seen from Hong Kong, which sent an increase of 36.7% more travelers, to hit 267,000.

The JNTO tells us that more travelers from Europe, and especially France (+9.8%) and Germany (+7.9%), are visiting Japan. Part of this is surely due to the strength of the euro versus the yen. On the other hand, the number of travelers from the US fell by 0.5%, from 403,220 to 401,300. This is actually a smaller fall than most likely would have been expected.

On the other hand, in June the number of Japanese traveling overseas fell by 7.2%. That was the fourteenth consecutive month in which the number of Japanese heading abroad has declined.

Filed Under Business, Japan, Tourism 

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Comments

8 Responses to “Record number of foreign tourists visit Japan in January-June 2008 period”

  1. WG on July 31st, 2008 7:18 pm

    Remember when all the PC types were saying that Japan’s fingerprinting of foreign visitors would lead people not to come to Japan?

    Proven wrong.

  2. Ken Worsley on August 1st, 2008 2:26 pm

    Yeah, but I’d be more impressed if you had predicted the EUR/YEN rate.

  3. WG on August 1st, 2008 10:03 pm

    yeah, piss off, no more about that.

    Point is, Japan is appealing, and protecting itself against terror won’t stop legit tourists from coming.

  4. Ken Worsley on August 2nd, 2008 1:02 am

    Japan is appealing, and protecting itself against terror won’t stop legit tourists from coming.

    Who said it would?

    I mean, name someone - not some anonymous blogger, but a real, living, thinking, breathing human who said so. No one with a clue about what’s going on made such a claim that I’ve seen.

    Who are you attacking?

  5. Contrarian on August 2nd, 2008 6:23 am

    WG:

    Whether or not fingerprinting foreign visitors was a deterrent for tourists was never the case in question. Most commentators that I read were simply pointing out that it is a ridiculous policy. It was a sort of Red Herring, if you will.

    Maybe you should come back here with some compelling evidence of a dramatic decrease in terrorism in Japan as a result of fingerprinting. Hell, find a dramatic decrease in crime. After all, there are no criminals or terrorists of Japanese decent. It’s those wily foreigners.

  6. plg on August 5th, 2008 12:46 pm

    This is a real accomplishment for Japan and I think they can continue to do better. There are a lot of seasons with bad weather, so it’s hard to have tourists come year round. Still, I think some areas could market themselves more as resorts, especially down south.

  7. Meking on August 6th, 2008 9:59 pm

    What’s up with the winter pic?

  8. tokuon » January - June 2008 Foreign Visitors to Japan Set Record on August 17th, 2008 12:20 pm

    […] Record number of foreign tourists visit Japan in January-June 2008 period (2008.07.28, Japan Economic News) In 2007, 8.35 million foreign tourists visited Japan. According to data released today by the Japan National Tourist Organization, the first half of 2008 saw about 4.33 million foreign tourists enter the country, which was a 10% gain on 2007 figures. […]

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