Japan’s Tourism Sector Bounces Back from Covid Slump
Japan’s inbound travel spending from foreign tourists broke an all-time record in 2023, rebounding from the Covid-19 pandemic travel slump with an impressive 5.3 trillion yen. This is according to data published by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The 2023 figure marks an increase of 10.2 percent from the 2019, pre-pandemic annual spending of 4.8 trillion yen, even with the weakening yen.
Despite this increase, the average spending per traveler saw a decline. Where per-capita spending for foreign tourists in Japan had been 235,000 yen in 2022, it was just 213,000 yen in 2023.
Looking at the spending patterns of inbound travelers by categories in 2019 and 2023, a greater share of spending went into accommodation in the latter year (29.4 percent in 2019; 34.6 percent in 2023), while a smaller share was spent on shopping (34.7 percent in 2019; 26.5 percent in 2023), suggesting a shift in what people are prioritizing on their trips.
The countries from which visitor spending was highest were Taiwan with 14.8 percent, China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) with 14.3 percent, South Korea at 13.9 percent and the United States at 11.4 percent. In 2019, China had accounted for by far the biggest share at 36.8 percent, followed by Taiwan at 11.5 percent, South Korea at 8.8 percent, reflecting how China has not yet made a full recovery of outbound tourism since the pandemic.