Japan tourism growth slowed as quake rumor deterred Hong Kongers
The number of visitors from Hong Kong slumped by a third from a year earlier to 166,800, data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization showed on Wednesday. Overall arrivals grew by 7.6%, the slowest rate this year.
Fears of an earthquake on or around July 5 originated from a manga graphic novel by Ryo Tatsuki, whom some claim to have foreseen Japan's disastrous 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The story spread wildly on social media in Hong Kong, resulting in the lower visitor count, JNTO said.
Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, but scientists say there is no way of predicting the timing of major tremors. The date of the prophecy came and went without incident.
Total foreign visitors to Japan hit 3.4 million in June, the highest ever for the month, with the cheap yen continuing to lure tourists.
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Asahi Shimbun
9 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
The ups and downs of luring rich tourists to less-known areas
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INTO CULTURE The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is pitching lesser-known regions to travel agencies that curate trips to Japan for deep-pocketed clients. One such destination is Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. At a workshop nestled in residential district of Kanazawa, six foreigners watched kimono fabric being dyed in the traditional Kaga Yuzen technique passed down for centuries in the city. The visitors were all travel agency executives who flew to Japan in February at the JNTO's invitation. Gideon Nurick, a visitor who runs a travel agency in Vancouver, said Japan's attention to hygiene has heightened its popularity among travelers in the post-pandemic era. He said he will recommend Kanazawa to his customers. The JNTO started offering such inspection tours for foreign travel agencies in 2017. Although a tour to a dyeing workshop in Kanagawa costs 50,000 yen ($345) per visitor on average, hordes of international tourists have signed up, according to the Kanazawa City Tourism Association. 'Eighty percent of visitors to our workshop are from overseas, and the rest are Japanese officials in the kimono industry,' said Hitoshi Maida, a Kaga Yuzen craftsman who guided the inspection tour. Many of the tourists, he added, snap up pricy products sold at the workshop, such as glass panels sandwiching a piece of silk kimono cloth dyed in Kaga Yuzen style for display. A large one costs up to 2 million yen. GROWTH IN RICH TOURISTS Japan saw a record 36.87 million international arrivals in 2024, who spent a record high 8.14 trillion yen during their stay. The average per person was 227,000 yen. But some forked out several times more, and these are the tourists that the JNTO's program is targeting. 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The number of tourists taking helicopter rides to Naoshima from Kyoto or Osaka is rising, according to local officials. At least eight upscale hotels, many of them using foreign capital, are expected to open in the region by the end of 2029, according to the Inland Sea, Setouchi Tourism Authority, a consortium of tourism companies from the seven prefectures. Among them is Mandarin Oriental in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, which is scheduled to open in 2027 with a spa and swimming pool. The room charge will start at around 80,000 yen. Another hotel with a quaint atmosphere is expected to open on Naoshima around the same time. Tourists to the Setouchi region provided 183.5 billion yen in revenue in 2024, up 45 percent from a year earlier, according to an estimate by the Inland Sea, Setouchi Tourism Authority. The figure is the highest since the organization began collecting such data in 2017. 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The trend of locals seeking jobs at high-end facilities makes it even more difficult for operators of nursing care centers and restaurants that are already suffering from chronic labor shortages. In Kyoto, construction of luxury hotels has led to soaring land prices and higher housing costs for residents. The trend has had disastrous consequences for the ancient capital. More Japanese residents moved out of Kyoto than from any other Japanese city for three straight years from 2020. The exodus included many families raising young children. Toshiya Miyazaki, chief researcher with Mitsubishi Research Institute who is well-versed in tourism policy, said focusing on big spenders can help the local economy, given their strong interest in the traditions and cultural heritage of their destinations. 'If they purchase expensive classical handicrafts of local regions that average Japanese cannot afford, it will contribute to the preservation of the traditional craft industry,' he said. But he warned against overreliance on tourism. He said while Nara Prefecture is widely seen as a heavily tourism-oriented prefecture, its tourism industry makes up less than 10 percent of the overall amount of local banks' outstanding loans. 'Relying on tourism as the largest single source of revenue is a wrong approach,' he said. 'A rise in higher-spending visitors alone will not be enough to bolster the regional economy.'
NHK
a day ago
- NHK
Japan advises against travel to Thailand-Cambodia border areas
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Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
South Korean military plane apparently entered Japan ADIZ without notice
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