Overview
- South Korea, which reported Thursday a record 4.76 million foreign visitors in the first quarter, also set a March high of 2.06 million boosted by a BTS comeback show in Seoul.
- Chinese travelers led Korea’s inflows at about 1.45 million in the quarter as Japan reached 940,000 and Taiwan grew the fastest, with foreign card spending up 23% to 3.21 trillion won.
- Japan drew 3.6 million visitors in March, a monthly record JNTO linked to the start of cherry blossom season and overlapping school and Easter holidays.
- Japan’s arrivals from China fell about 56% to 291,600 after Beijing advised against travel, and visitors from the Middle East dropped about 30% to 16,700 during the Iran war.
- Japan recorded 2.3 trillion yen in first‑quarter tourist spending, up 2.5%, and officials are watching flight disruptions and rising fares tied to the Middle East crisis that could change trip plans.