Visitors to Japan Grow 3.8 Pct in February

March 20, 2019

Tokyo- The estimated number of visitors to Japan in February climbed 3.8 pct from a year earlier to 2,604,300, a record high for the month, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Tuesday.

The pace of growth in the number of visitors from mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, which makes up more than 70 pct of the total, slowed, but visitors from North America and Southeast Asia continued to steadily increase.

The number of visitors from mainland China rose only 1.0 pct amid a significant cut in cruise ship services to Japan.

Trips to Japan from mainland China using cruise trips have started decreasing since the latter half of last year, and the trend is likely to continue for the time being, Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Hiroshi Tabata said.

The growth in the number of visitors from South Korea and Hong Kong was also small, at 1.1 pct and 0.5 pct, respectively. Visitors from Taiwan dropped 0.3 pct, the first fall in three months.

Visitors from the United States went up 13.2 pct, and those from Canada rose 14.7 pct.

The number of visitors from Thailand and Vietnam jumped on the back of increased flights to Japan, growing 31.4 pct and 68.6 pct, respectively. Jiji Press