According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Japan and China, Chinese tourists are avoiding going to Japan. Not only has the number of group tourists decreased, but the impact has also affected independent tourists. The number of foreigners visiting Japan in January dropped from the same period last year. After the Spring Festival in February, which is considered the peak season, popular tourist destinations that should have been overcrowded are no longer what they used to be.
According to reports, the situation in Japan’s popular tourist destinations is no longer what it used to be. Chinese tourists visiting Japan fell by 45.3% in December last year compared with the same period last year, and the decline widened to 60.7% in January this year. Sales of duty-free goods in department stores across the country have dropped, and people in the tourism industry such as travel agencies that cater to Chinese tourists have been complaining.
In early February, Ryosuke Morishita, the president of the Tozu Taxi Company (Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture), which operates the Tozu Taxi Company (Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture) in the Izu Peninsula, which is popular with Chinese tourists, said: "At the beginning of the new year, the situation is even more serious." According to reports, during the China National Day holiday in October last year, an average of about 100 taxi dispatch orders were received every day through the taxi APP, but it continued to decline from November to almost zero. Individual tourists were nowhere to be seen. I don’t have high hopes for the Spring Festival holiday that started on February 15 this year.
According to reports, the Japanese government’s strategy is to make up for the gap by attracting tourists from Europe, the United States, Australia and other countries. A senior official from the Tourism Agency emphasized that “there were also an increase in tourists from other countries in January. Overall, there was not much change compared to last year, and it can almost make up for it.”
However, Japan's Kyodo News pointed out that the replacement effect may not be satisfactory, and it faces pressure to adjust its strategy.
The relevant person in charge of Japan's Osaka Tourism Bureau said frankly: "Osaka Prefecture leads the country in the proportion of Chinese tourists. It is very difficult to make up for the decrease with tourists from other countries."
According to the report, given that the number of flights between China and Japan during the first week of China's "Spring Festival" (February 2-8) dropped by 49.2% compared with the same period last year, Japan fell out of the top ten in the list of popular destinations for Chinese outbound travel compiled by major travel agencies, and the risk of further reduction is worrying.
Public information shows that the consumption of foreign tourists visiting Japan will reach 8.1395 trillion yen (approximately RMB 379.4 billion) in 2024. The consumption of Chinese tourists ranks first among all countries with 1.73 trillion yen, accounting for 21.3% of the total consumption. The Japanese industry believes that Japan's fall out of the top ten popular outbound travel destinations this Spring Festival will have a significant impact on Japan's local tourism, hotels, catering, retail, etc., putting a "sudden brake" on Japan's rapidly recovering inbound tourism-related industries, and frustrating Japan's strategy of establishing a tourism nation.
