Foreign Traveler Spending In Japan

Above, the Shibuya shopping district. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Japan Tourism Agency has released the results of a new study on spending by foreign visitors to Japan.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO - A new study by the Japan Tourism Agency, part of the Japanese government’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, shows that the Japan travel boom is still going strong. According to the agency, during 2019 foreign travelers spent more money in Japan than ever before, with expenditures from foreign guests totaling roughly 4.8113 trillion yen ($43.739 billion). That’s a 6.5-percent increase over the year before, and also the seventh year in a row for the record to be broken. 

Chinese travelers left more of their money behind in Japan than tourists from any other nation, with the country’s contribution coming to 1.7718 trillion yen (more than a third of the total). Following China were Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong, with the United States, in fifth place, the highest-spending non-Asian nation.

To read more, go here. 

Foreign Tourists Spent ¥4.81 Trillion In Japan In 2019

Above, Osaka Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If there ever was a good reason why nations should welcome foreign visitors, here's one.

From The Japan Times:

Foreign tourists in Japan spent a record ¥4.81 trillion ($43.6 billion) in 2019 in line with a continued increase in visitors, government data showed Friday. 

Their spending rose 6.5 percent from 2018, increasing for the seventh consecutive year, the Japan Tourism Agency said in a preliminary report. 

The number of foreign visitors marked an all-time high of 31.88 million last year, but the margin of growth slowed to 2.2 percent from 8.7 percent in 2018 as South Korean tourists dropped sharply due to a deterioration in bilateral ties, the agency said. 

Visitors from South Korea fell 25.9 percent to 5.58 million. 

Bilateral relations have soured since South Korean court rulings ordered Japanese firms in October 2018 to compensate for wartime labor during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.

To read more, go here. 

2018 National Park Visitor Spending Effects

Above, gateway communities such as West Yellowstone, Montana gain
 economically from national park visitors. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt released a report on the economic benefits to gateway communities by the nation's national parks.

According to an article in All On Georgia:

As the summer vacation and travel seasons opens, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt announced Thursday that visitor spending in communities near national parks in 2018 resulted in a $40.1 billion benefit to the nation’s economy and supported 329,000 jobs. 

According to the annual National Park Service report, 2018 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, more than 318 million visitors spent $20.2 billion in communities within 60 miles of a park in the National Park System. Of the 329,000 jobs supported by visitor spending, more than 268,000 jobs exist in the park gateway communities.

To read more, go here. 

Yosemite Visitor Numbers Down, But Spending Up

Above, Yosemite's Bridal Veil Fall. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The economic benefits that national parks brings to nearby (or gateway) communities is well worth the cost of maintaining them.

The numbers are in on Yosemite National Park. Although visitor numbers were down compared to the year before, spending in nearby communities was up.

According to My Mother Lode:

Yosemite National Park, CA — Well over four million Yosemite visitors spent nearly a half-billion dollars in nearby communities, according to a just-released National Park Service (NPS) report. 

Official figures count 4,009,438 visitors to Yosemite National Park in 2018 with a total spending estimate in surrounding communities of $495,245,000, which supported 6,184 jobs in the area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $624,129,000. Nearly 97 percent of those visiting Yosemite were nonlocal. 

Compared to last year’s numbers reported here, while the 2018 visitor numbers were down 7.8 percent, spending increased 9.6 percent. Job numbers decreased 7.5 percent, however cumulative economic impact rose 5.7 percent.

To read more, go here.

Japan's Visitors Spent Record ¥4.51 Trillion In 2018

Above, shoppers in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Along with having record numbers of foreign visitors, Japan is reaping the benefits from those visitors economically.

The Japan Times reported:

Foreign tourists spent a record-high ¥4.51 trillion ($41.5 billion) in Japan in 2018 as the tourism boom continued in the country, government data showed Wednesday. 

Spending by foreign visitors increased for the seventh consecutive year. Average spending per person stood at ¥153,000, the Japan Tourism Agency said in a preliminary report. 

The number of foreign visitors to the country reached a record 31.19 million last year, up 8.7 percent from 2017, the agency also said.

To read more, go here. 

Hawaii Visitor Spending On The Rise

Above, a view of Diamond Head from Waikiki Beach. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The recent hurricanes and eruptions of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii doesn't seem to have hurt visitor spending in the Hawaiian Islands as spending grew 6.4% in September over a year ago.

According to eTurboNews:

Visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent a total of $1.28 billion in September 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to a year ago, according to preliminary statistics released today by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). 

Visitor spending increased from U.S. West (+2.5% to $460.2 million), U.S. East (+7.9% to $297.3 million) and All Other International Markets (+20.5% to $297.9 million) in September, while spending by visitors from Canada ($43 million) was virtually unchanged from last year. Spending by visitors from Japan declined (-4.1% to $179.9 million) year-over-year.

To read more, go here.