Visitors to Japan Up 4 Pct from Prepandemic Level in April

Tokyo, May 15 (Jiji Press)--The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in April reached 3,042,900, up 4.0 pct from the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.

The figure surged 56.1 pct from a year before to mark two consecutive months above three million, reflecting stronger travel demand in the spring cherry blossom season. The January-April total surpassed 10 million.

High numbers were logged for visitors from South Korea and the United States, as well as from Southeast Asia and the Middle East as travel demand grew following the Ramadan Islamic fasting period.

The organization said that 661,200 visitors came from South Korea, the largest group by country or region of origin.

Visitors from mainland China grew by fivefold to 533,600, still below the prepandemic level. Visitors from Taiwan totaled 459,700, while 228,900 visitors came from the United States.
 

The number of outbound Japanese travelers in April rose 58.7 pct from a year before to 888,800. The figure was 46.7 pct lower than the prepandemic level, apparently because a weaker yen made overseas trips expensive.

"Japanese people traveling abroad continue to face a situation that is not necessarily advantageous for them, such as a weak yen and inflation overseas," Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Ichiro Takahashi said at a press conference.

But Takahashi noted that the number of outbound travelers was "steadily on the rebound," and that Japanese authorities will work to increase the number of such travelers as well as that of inbound foreign tourists.

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