Number of foreign visitors in Japan 2020, by region

In 2020, Japan welcomed approximately 1.1 million visitors from China. In terms of visitor distribution by nationality, Chinese tourists were the most numerous foreign visitors, followed by Taiwanese and South Korean visitants. Guests from East Asian countries comprised over 60 percent of visitors to Japan in that year. Figures declined significantly compared to previous years due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 What are the leading drivers for inbound tourism in Japan?  

Depending on their country of origin, travelers tended to seek different experiences from their stay in Japan. For tourists from China, Japanese cuisine, as well as shopping seemed to be leading motivations to visit Japan. This was the case for many other East Asian travelers, as Japanese food and shopping districts also appeared to be the most appealing for South Korean and Taiwanese tourists. Looking at the leading activities among Chinese tourists in Japan, eating Japanese food, shopping, and walking in shopping districts were the most popular and were undertaken by the vast majority. Asian visitors’ motivations and activities tended to be consumer oriented. On the other hand, leading drivers for visitors from the West, for example, the United States, tended to be more culture oriented. Next to eating Japanese food, leading drivers for Western nations also included experiencing Japan’s nature, sightseeing, and learning about Japanese history and culture.

 Shopping tourism in Japan

    Inbound shopping tourism is thriving in Japan and is especially popular among East Asian visitors. One possible explanation is Japan’s reputation of having a high product quality and service-oriented mindset, while another reason might be the government’s proactive approach to enabling tourism in general. Chinese tourists seem to have taken a liking to shopping in Japan, as they rank first in terms of foreign visitor per capita shopping expenditure.