By YOKO MASUDA/ Staff Writer
October 17, 2024 at 12:09 JST
Foreign visitors in Tokyo’s Asakusa district on Sept. 11 (Yoko Masuda)
Spending by foreign visitors in the first nine months of this year broke the full-year record set in 2023 as visitor numbers also topped last year's annual total, government data showed.
Travelers spent 5.8 trillion yen ($39 billion) in Japan between January and September, more than the 5.3 trillion yen in the whole of 2023, the Japan National Tourism Organization said on Oct. 16.
Japan welcomed about 26.88 million visitors during the nine-month period, more than the approximately 25.07 million in 2023.
Last month, more than 2.87 million tourists came, the highest number for any September.
Visitors increased from South Korea, the United States and elsewhere because airlines added nonstop services and regional routes. Many countries also had holidays in September.
Chinese visitors totaled 652,300, double the number of the same month the previous year, partly because many people traveled in connection with the National Day on Oct. 1.
Visitor spending between July and September came to 1.94 billion yen.
China was the top-spending nation, followed by the Taiwan region, South Korea and the United States.
Expenditures on accommodations, shopping, and food and drink increased partly due to the weak yen.
The average spending per visitor was 223,000 yen. Italians topped the list, splurging 400,000 yen per person.
If current trends continue throughout the year, visitor numbers in 2024 will reach 35 million and visitor spending will total 8 trillion yen, according to JNTO estimates.
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