Overview
- JNTO, which reported Wednesday, said March brought 3.6 million foreign visitors, a 3.5 percent rise year on year and a new high for the month.
- Chinese arrivals fell 56 percent to 291,600 after Beijing warned citizens against trips to Japan following tensions over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks.
- Visitors from the Middle East dropped 30 percent to 16,700, a decline linked to the Iran war and flight disruptions that officials say could push up airfares.
- South Korea has led source markets since January, with March totals of 795,600 from South Korea and 653,300 from Taiwan setting March records on steady demand and more flights.
- Foreign visitor spending reached 2.3 trillion yen in the first quarter, the third highest on record, with Taiwan the top spender and a weaker yen lifting U.S. outlays while China’s spending halved.