Japan, one of the most popular destinations for China’s tourists along with Thailand and South Korea, saw visitor arrivals from China for the first four months of this year skyrocketed 50% and reached 1.97 million, continuing the upward trend of 2015 when arrivals from China doubled that of the year before to top 4.99 million.
The popularity of Japan as a destination for China’s tourists is helped by its proximity to China hence low travel costs, shopping appeal, high quality services and favorable exchange rate.
Statistics show that visitors from China accounted for 1/4 of Japan’s inbound tourists in 2015. Visitors from China spent a total of RMB79.2 billion in 2015, or RMB16,000 per capita, which was 5,600 yuan more than the spending of tourists from other countries.
However, the shopping frenzy in Japan has cooled down so far this year, with sales of duty-free products to mainland visitors decreased by 9.3% compared to the same period last year, and Chinese visitors seem to have lower interest in buying luxurious products such as jewelry and watches. (Translated by Claire)
