Japan hopes to restore pre-pandemic levels of inbound tourism during the next 3 years

Japan’s plan, unveiled during a recent tourism conference, also aims to boost the number of overnight stays by foreign visitors across different regions up from 43.09 million back in 2019. However, the ambitious initiative is yet to be approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Before the Covid-19 outbreak in 2019, Japan was visited by a record number of tourists. Nevertheless, the figures dropped dramatically during the last 2 years, with under 4.2 million and just 250.000 visitors in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Of course, the country also had one of the strictest and longest travel regulation policies in the world, which considerably contributed to the reported fall.

But from now on, according to forecasts, travel demand is expected to fully recover, with the next three years considered to be crucial. In order to fulfil its plans, the Japan Tourism Agency will also advocate boosting travel outside of urban areas by emphasizing each destination's historical and scenic features.

In terms of long-term projects, officials in Japan aim high, such as an annual target of 60 million international visitors by 2030, as well as an annual tourist spending of at least $34 billion in the near future.

The government will also explore strategies to enhance the amount of finances spent per person and the duration of stay in the country, as well as ways to solve "tourist pollution" concerns like traffic congestion, waste and crowding.

In addition, future events like the Expo 2025 held in Osaka and Tokyo’s World Athletics Championships are believed to be significant contributors to the already increasing tourist numbers.

 

Source: english.kyodonews.net