Visitors to Japan Hit Single-Month Record High in April
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
People in short sleeves take photos in the Asakusa district of Taito Ward, Tokyo, in February 2024.
Tokyo, May 21 (Jiji Press)—The monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high in April amid the cherry blossom season, a Japan National Tourism Organization report showed Wednesday.
The number of inbound visitors is estimated to have risen 28.5 pct from a year before to 3,908,900 in April, topping 3.9 million for the first time for a single month.
Demand for travel to Japan, especially from China, Hong Kong, the United States and Australia, surged as cherry blossoms bloomed in many parts of the country. The reporting month also included Easter holidays.
By country or region, the number of visitors from mainland China jumped 43..4 pct to 765,100, followed by 721,600 visitors from South Korea, up 9.1 pct, 537,600 from Taiwan, up 16.9 pct, and 327,500 from the United States, up 43.1 pct.
The record monthly figure 'seems to be attributed to brisk demand in China for visiting Japan and an increase in the number of flights,' Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Naoya Haraikawa said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, the number of Japanese nationals traveling overseas rose 8.2 pct to 961,000 in April, after tow consecutive months of double-digit growth.
The slower increase is apparently because this year's Golden Week holiday period from late April to early May included several weekdays, and also due to a decrease in the number of travelers to Thailand following a major earthquake in neighboring Myanmar in late March.
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