Japan Bound
JTB forecasts Japanese travelers are expected to be up 2.9% to 320 million in 2025, while international visitors be up 8.9% to 40 million
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers in 2025 is expected to increase by 2.9% year on year to 319 million in total, and International visitors to Japan are estimated at 402 million, 8.9% more visitors than 2024.
A new 24-hours online service connecting between foreigners staying in a hotel and a doctor is launched in Japan
A new online medical treatment service ‘Hotel de Doctor 24’ for foreigners staying in a hotel who are concerned about health conditions during traveling in Japan is ready for operation.
The duty-free procedure will be shifted to ‘refund method’ on November 1 2026, abolishing the maximum amount of a purchase
The current duty-free procedure in Japan will change to ‘refund method’ on November 1 2026 to improve conveniences for international visitors to Japan and reduce workloads of duty-free shops.
Japanese government eases visa rules for Chinese travelers, including a new 10-years-valid multiple visa and extension of stays in Japan
Japan has decided to ease visa rules for Chinese travelers, newly launching 10-years-valid multiple tourist visa for Chinese travelers and extension of valid stays for group tourist visa.
International conferences in Japan were up 2.5 times in 2023 with more in-person than hybrid for the first time since 2020
The number of international conferences in Japan was up 2.5 times year on yea to 1,376 in 2023. In-person conferences were 736, accounting for 53% of the total, more than hybrid conferences for the first time since 2020.
International visitors to Japan reached 33.4 million in November 2024, already exceeding the annual record of 31.9 million in 2019
The number of international visitors to Japan in November 2024 reached record-high 3,187,000 for November, totaled 33.4 million visitorsfor the first 11 months, already exceeding the annual record of 31.9 million in 2019.
Co-Founders of local experience booking platform ‘GetYourGuide’ talk about how they expect the Japanese market and why
GetYourGuide co-founders, Johannes Reck and Tao Tao talked about the Japanese market and partnership with suppliers, expecting that Japan continues being one of the most popular destination on its platform.
An Okinawa-based DMC is launched for inbound adventure travel tours across Japan in cooperation with five local DMCs
Okinawa-based ‘Nature Travel Japan’ was launched as a new destination management company (DMC). Under a brand name of ‘Japan Adventure Travel,’ five local DMCs partner to create adventure travel tours across Japan for inbound travelers.
Japan Tourism Agency creates new ‘Travel Etiquette’ and ‘Tourism Pictogram’ as guidances for travelers to promote sustainable tourism
Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) has created new ‘Travel Etiquette’ and ‘Tourism Pictogram’ to raise awareness of tourist etiquette and recommended behavior.
Japan National Tourism Organization issues ink painting NFT to promote Osaka Kansai EXPO as a gateway to travel nationwide
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) issued 20 kinds of ink painting NFTs featuring local landmarks in 10 regions as one of the efforts in Osaka Kansai EXPO 2025 promotions.
Uber Japan will dispatch taxies in Hakuba, Nagano, in the limited winter season to improve conveniences for international visitors
Uber will begin dispatching taxies on the Uber app in Hakuba Village, Nagao Prefecture in the limited winter season to improve conveniences for international visitors who are used to use the Uber app.
The research about over-tourism in Japan finds that 60% of all regions realize over-crowded tourists, and the biggest challenge is traffic
According to the Jalan Research Center's survey, 59.7% of people in residence areas and 63.4% of people in business areas realized that tourists are crowded or slightly crowded.
International visitors to Japan exceeded 30 million at the fastest rate in history with 3.31 million in October 2024
the number of international visitors to Japan in October 2024 reached record-high 3,312,000 on a single months basis. The numbers for the first ten months totaled 30.2 million visitors, exceeding 30 million at the fastest rate in history .
30% of foreign visitors to Japan have experienced over-tourism in traveling
The joint research by JTB Foundation and Development Bank of Japan finds that about 30% of foreign visitors to Japan have experienced over-crowded situation in tourist destinations or tourism spots.
International guest nights increased by 50% in three urban areas and 20% in local regions in August 2024
The total number of guest nights in August 2024 was up 1% year on year to 64.9 million. Guest nights of international travelers were up 24.9% to 13.2 million (up 39.5% over August 2019), accounting for 20.4% of the total.
Kyoto City is taking precautions against over-tourism, such as pre-booking of parking slots or a digital map to spread tourists, for the busiest autumn
DMO KYOTO and City of Kyoto is developing ‘Kyoto Traveler’s Promise’ campaign from November 1 2024 to February 2025 to promote ‘Kyoto Tourism Moral.' A pre-booking of parking slots will be introduced in Higashiyama area.
More than 90% of international travelers to Japan intend to visit regional areas, but less than 10% have visited there before
International travelers from the world intend to visit regional destinations in Japan, but they have not been there yet. The ratio of international travelers who have visited lregional destinations before is less than 10% on average.
Outer garden of the Imperial Palace, the heart of Tokyo, is exclusively reserved as a premium event for the first time
A premium event ’Special experience in “The Heart” of Tokyo’ in Kokyo Gaien National Garden (outer garden of the Imperial Palace) will be organized for the first time on November 20 and 21.
JAL and Hoshino Resorts launch a joint campaign to introduce ‘a little-known but good destination’ for inbound travelers
JAL and Hoshino Resorts launched a joint campaign to introduce 'a little-known but good destinations’ in Japan on each of the owned media and offer dynamic package tours.
Transactions on Visa cards by Korean travelers in Japan increase from 39% to 48% of all their spendings
Transactions on Visa cards by Korean travelers accounted for 62% in Asia Pacific, and the ratio of spendings on Visa cards in Japan increased from 39% of the total to 48%, according to Visa.
