Japan Becomes The Land of Rising Tourism

Above, Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, one of the world's most visited
tourist attractions according to Travel + Leisure. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The most recent blog post noted that Japan has already beat its 2013 record of 10 million foreign tourists in the first ten months of 2014.

One of the reasons cited for the growth in tourism was the devaluing of the Japanese yen.

Travel Daily Asia has an article on the booming Japanese tourist industy.

It begins with:

Japan’s tourism industry is experiencing a major upswing, as the fall of the yen makes the country an increasingly affordable destination. 

International tourist arrivals to Japan have doubled in the last decade, to more than 10 million in 2013 – the majority of them from other parts of Asia.

The article does mention that a factor that could hinder further growth in tourism, need for more slots at Tokyo's two airports, Haneda and Narita, especially Haneda.

There's one other possible hindrance to future growth: if the yen appreciates in value against foreign currencies. That would put a big damper on tourism growth pretty darn fast!

To read more, go here.