Japan Sets New Inbound Tourist Record: They Almost Did It

Above, a photo/filming shoot at Sensoji in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The figures for inbound tourists to Japan in 2015 are now out and Japan set a new record.

And, they almost reached their 2020 goal of 20 million tourists. Way to go!

The Japan Times reported:

A record 19.73 million people visited Japan in 2015, marking the first time in 45 years that the number of incoming travelers surpassed the outbound figure, the tourism ministry said Tuesday. 

The latest announcement confirms once again that the nation is almost sure to achieve its target of receiving 20 million foreign visitors in a year by 2020. The government is now discussing whether to revise the target upward. 

The 19.73 million marked a 47.3 percent increase from 2014, when 13.41 million people visited, and is nearly four times the 5.21 million who visited the country in 2003, when the “Visit Japan” campaign began.

We did our part last year in adding to the numbers: three of us visited Japan in October.

To read more, go here.