The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced on the 20th that the number of foreign tourists (arrivals) to Japan in November was 2.48 million, nearly on par with the same month in 2019. The tourist count has remained at pre-coronavirus outbreak levels for two consecutive months, signaling a sustained recovery.
Breaking down by country/region, there were 649,900 visitors from South Korea (approximately 3.2 times that of the same month in 2019), 403,500 from Taiwan (an increase of 2.9%), and 258,300 from China (a decrease of 65.6 times compared to the same month in 2019). This marks a historical high for November in 13 countries and regions, including South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.
Despite the lifting of the ban on group tours from China in August, which accounted for about one-third of the total number of tourists before the pandemic, Chinese tourists are still avoiding traveling to Japan due to concerns related to the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power. As of November, the total number of visitors to Japan this year reached 22.33 million. The Japanese government has set a target to surpass the pre-pandemic level of annual visitors (31.88 million in 2019) by 2025, and if the recovery trend continues, this goal could be achieved as early as 2024.
On the other hand, the number of Japanese citizens traveling abroad (departures) in November was 1.02 million, only 62.5% of the same month in 2019. It seems that many people are hesitant to travel abroad due to the perception of a weak yen and high foreign prices leading to expensive travel costs.
