Japan’s foreign tourist numbers projected to fall for first time in years in 2026
Japan’s foreign tourist numbers projected to fall for first time in years in 2026
Japan’s foreign tourist numbers projected to fall for first time in years in 2026
Japan’s foreign tourist numbers projected to fall for first time in years in 2026
12 Comments
That’s a good thing right?
Can’t tell if this is good news or bad news.
They wanted that (many Japanese people and the government), right?
Less tourists. Less people buying JPY. How could it be a good thing?
No it won’t. The news said the Chinese were not coming to Japan anymore and my city has more Chinese tourists than ever.
Also, it’s pretty clear that the yen will not stop melting in the foreseeable future, so Japan won’t stop getting cheap for everyone. The economy is so bad that the Japan trip is now cheaper than domestic travel for some countries.
Not projected for me. Already fell. This time last year my company was 90-95% capacity booked until july. Not even close this year, roughly 60%-70% booked. Obviously anecdotal evidence since its just one hotel but its like 20% down from last year, big drop.
I normally visit japan once every year or two but haven’t felt the desire lately. I’d rather go somewhere a bit cheaper and a bit more exotic with less tourists. This news aligns to my own experience to see my dollar go a bit further and to try something new. In future I think I will purely go to japan for specialist areas like Hokkaido for skiing or Kyushu for vibes and hiking – missing the capital cities entirely.
It’s what they wanted right?
Thought it’d be a way bigger decrease with Chinese out of the picture.
Because of this “news” were actually going again. 6th time…6th and 7th time if the yen keeps dropping.
We’re planning Spring and Fall. Might bring 6 people with us like our 5th time.
Our Online Friends from Japan will take us to local Mom and Pop only stores and restaurants.
No Donkki
Straight local crafts, local artists, small stores.
Will take advantage of less crowds in temples and trains.
Inbound tourism is a bubble so it needs to fall at some point. Most visitors don’t come here because they like this country; they just come cause it’s trendy and they blindly follow. There won’t be 2nd visit for them.
Tbh before someone jumps to the conclusion that its dipping purely due to less “chinese”, I think it’s an overall trend not specific to a country.
For 1, I think chinese tourists numbers projections have been varying wildly. I saw some reports (from Chinese and english sources) saying the chinese tourist numbers actually jumped by 40% for lunar new year and golden week. Ofc there are also reports that it’s going to keep the current trend of decreasing but you never know. It’s not like they made a full travel ban, only advisory and people may still want to visit Japan regardless of what their gov says.
For 2, anecdotal but I notice Japan is becoming less exotic to westerners. At least in the US, traveling to japan used to be a cool hot thing in the past few years. Now it’s… well it’s still there but it’s not a thing that everyone chases after. I think for westerners the culture gap is still there and the food and scenery as good as they can be it still becomes tiring if they go every year eventually. Japan has done a good job advertising their tourism overseas and I feel like it has now reached a near full coverage, and only people who genuinely enjoy Japan on a regular basis will keep going. On top of that, I also hear my friends that visit Japan often complaining about crowds getting worse, service quality decreasing or prices increase and making them less motivated to go. Again anecdotal but just trying to piece some info together