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Tuesday, 31st March 2015
In Japan Travel News,
Overnight guests in Japan rose to record high in 2014
New figures by the Japan Tourism Agency have highlighted that the number of overnight guests in Japan rose to a record high in 2014.
Over the 12 months, both domestic and foreign tourists stayed a total of 472.32 million nights at hotels and inns, a rise of 1.4 per cent from the year before. Much of this increase was fuelled by a surge in international visitors, who stayed 44.82 million nights - up by a staggering 33.8 per cent when compared to 2013.
This is in contrast to the number of domestic travellers, who decreased their overnight stays by 1.1 per cent; industry leaders have suggested that the rise in the consumption tax rate in April 2014 was a key factor in this.
Dissecting the data further, it was those coming from Taiwan that topped the list, with 7.83 million overnight stays, while China came in second with 7.64 million - both were up by 26.6 per cent and 84.3 per cent respectively from the year before. In general, travellers from south-east Asia were on the rise due to the eased visa requirements put in place in recent months, while the expansion of duty-free items available in Japan also played a large part in attracting tourists.
For those staying the night, the most popular area unsurprisingly was Tokyo (13.45 million), followed by Osaka (5.84 million) and Kyoto (3.41 million), all of which suggest that the 'Golden Route' linking up these three cities is still extremely popular among the travelling community. Hokkaido, meanwhile, famed for its skiing opportunities, also noted 4.03 million foreign overnight stays over the year.
More and more visitors are looking to explore the majestic nation of Japan, especially as we gear up towards the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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