Japanese Inns and Hotels Set New Record In 2014

Above, the Godaido temple at Matsushima Bay. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

New Japan tourism figures for 2014 have come in and they show that Japan enjoyed a big surge in foreign tourists in Japanese hotels and inns.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

The number of "overnight guests" in Japan rose to a record high in 2014, but the disaster-stricken Tohoku region is still struggling to reel in foreign tourists. 

Japanese and foreign tourists stayed 472.32 nights at hotels and inns in Japan last year, up 1.4 percent from 2013, according to Japan Tourism Agency figures released March 26. 

The figure is ascribed to a surge in the number of foreign visitors, who stayed 44.82 million nights, up 33.8 percent. 

The comparable figure for Japanese tourists, however, dropped by 1.1 percent, with the increase in the consumption tax rate in April 2014 cited as a key factor.

Foreign tourists are missing some great scenery in the Tohoku region by not visiting. The tourist industry in Tohoku could use the big lift that increased foreign tourism would give. I visited Sendai and Matsushima Bay in 2006.

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