Tourism expenditure by domestic visitors in Japan 2011-2020

In 2020, expenditure as a result of domestic tourism in Japan amounted to 10 trillion Japanese yen, a decrease from about 22 trillion yen in the previous year. Domestic tourism accounts for most of the expenditure in the tourism sector in Japan. During 2020, domestic tourism generated almost all of the tourism expenditure in Japan, as following the COVID-19 pandemic, inbound travel was heavily restricted. International tourist arrivals, as well as foreign visitors’ consumption was on the rise during the past few years until the advent of the pandemic.

 What are the main characteristics of domestic tourism in Japan? 

Some of the distinct characteristics of Japan’s domestic tourism industry come to light when looking at travel types and purposes. In terms of overall tourism expenditure by type of travel, domestic overnight travel in Japan proved to be the main source, followed by domestic day travel and foreign inbound travel. On average, Japanese travelers spend more money on domestic overnight trips than on any other type of travel. Looking at the domestic tourism expenditure on overnight trips by purpose of travel, trips for sightseeing and recreation generated the most travel expenditure in the country, followed by traveling home, and lastly, by business travels.

 Go to Travel Campaign and tourism during COVID-19 

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan closed its borders for international tourists. To make up for the missing tourist spending and create stimuli for the tourism sector, the government devised the “Go to Travel” campaign, which came into effect on July 22. Its main purpose was to encourage domestic travel in the country. It provided a 35 percent discount on the cost of accommodation and travel packages, as well as coupons worth 15 percent of the total travel cost which could be spent on various travel expenses during the trip. In the span of a few months since its debut at the end of July until the end of November, nearly 70 million overnight stays had received financial support through the campaign. The monthly number of overnight stays that made use of the Go to Travel campaign peaked in October 2020. It led to an increase in accommodation occupancy rates when compared to the months before the campaign, but with international tourists virtually non-existent, the results still lagged behind last year’s performance.