Published monthly by the Japan National Tourism Organization(JNTO). Updated till the month of June 2017 (published on July 19th, 2017).
Recent data trend
In June 2017, 2.34 million foreign tourists arrived in Japan, an increase of 18.2% from a year ago. The YoY growth rate has somewhat slowed in the last two months, from 23.9% in April to 18.2% in June, but we would consider the 18% growth to be still robust.
By country, there are some patches of concern. The number of visitors arriving from China grew only by 0.8% year on year(YoY). The growth rate of Chinese tourists has been at low single digit since February 2017. On the other hand visitors from Korea increased by 63.8% YoY.
At the current rate, total foreign visitors to Japan in 2017 will be close to 30 million. The Japanese government has a target for overseas tourists to grow to 40 million by 2020 when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games. It requires an average growth of 19% per year for the next 3.5 years.
Brief Overview
“Number of visitors to Japan” is published by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).This number includes all foreign visitors to Japan except foreign residents in Japan and crew members.
Tourism from abroad is one of the few promising businesses in Japan. Foreign visitors to Japan doubled in last decade and reached 10 million people for the first time in 2013, led by increase of Asian visitors. In 2008, the Japanese government has set up Japan Tourism Agency and set the initial goal to increase foreign visitors to 20 million in 2020. In 2016, having met the 20 million target, the government has revised up its target to 40 million by 2020 and to 60 million by 2030.
For more information, visit the official government page (Japanese only)
Foreign Visitors-Quarterly and Inbound Tourism Spending-Quarterly are published by Japan Tourism Agency as part of their Consumption Trend Survey for Foreigners visiting Japan. The main aim of the survey is to determine the actual consumption status of Inbound travelers from various countries. The methodology involves interviews by researchers at major Air and Sea ports.
Note: The seasonally adjusted series for Foreign Visitors to Japan-Total, Asia, China, Korea, Taiwan are calculated by us. Method of seasonal adjustment: US Census Bureau X-13 ARIMA seasonal adjustment program was used. Transform: Logarithmic transformation. Automatic outliers: Additive, level shift, temporary change and seasonal. ARIMA model: TRAMO Auto.
For more information, visit the official government page
Next release date: August 16th, 2017
Foreign Visitors-Quarterly
Inbound Tourism Spending-Quarterly