Today's Edition
TOKYO (AFP)
Record numbers of tourists flocked to Japan last year, figures showed Wednesday.
The country logged more than 36.8 million tourist arrivals in 2024, topping 2019's record of nearly 32 million, according to estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organization.
It marks a return to a boom that began over a decade ago before being interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with numbers up more than four-fold from 2012.
That is partly thanks to government policies to promote attractions from Mount Fuji's majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago.
Another factor is the cheap yen, which has plunged against other currencies over the past three years.
Japan has long been a "bucket list" destination for many people, said Naomi Mano, president of hospitality and events company Luxurique.
But it's "prime time because at the moment it's like Japan is on a 30 percent off sale," Mano told AFP.
The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030.
Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours.
