International Tourism To Japan Hardly "Moved The Needle"

Above, the Dotonbori area of Osaka in pre-pandemic days. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

International tourist arrivals hardly "moved the needle" in Japan. This is the case despite the foreign exchange rate between the dollar (and other currencies) and the Japanese yen being the most favorable in years.

That's according to an article in the Asahi Shimbun. 

Here's some snippets:

While Japan eased its travel restrictions on international arrivals in June hoping to attract more overseas visitors, new data shows the move barely even moved the needle.

Tourism officials said the number of overseas visitors has not increased significantly due in part to a resurgence of coronavirus cases in the country.

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reported on Aug. 17 that there were only 144,500 foreign arrivals in July, including those who flew to Japan on business, to study, or through the Japanese government’s job training program for young people from developing countries.

A JNTO official said several factors contributed to the dwindling tourism figures. They include the Omicron subvariant driving up COVID-19 cases across Japan, the stringent anti-coronavirus measures put in place at airports, and the government’s decision to only allow in tourists taking part in group tours.

To read the full article, go here.