Japanese tourism back on track
Japanese tourism has bounced back from the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, with the number of visitors exceeding the figures before the twin disaster.
Friday 3 August 2012, 12:35PM
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reports that the country welcomed 686,600 international visitor arrivals in June 2012.
This was a 131 per cent increase on the 295,800 who came to Japan in the month immediately following the disaster, in April 2011, and an increase of 1.4 per cent over the number recorded in June 2010.
The JNTO said the latest results gave it “great pleasure”, adding “This result has only been possible through the tremendous support and cooperation that we have received from everyone around the world.
“We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude for such heartwarming support.”
Hotels, too, have largely recovered, with average occupancy levels in Tokyo now back above 80 per cent, while aviation is also buoyant, with the launch of low-cost carriers such as Peach and Jetstar Japan, backed up by ANA’s continuing strength and a resurgent Japan Airlines (JAL).
“It is very encouraging to see demand returning to countries such as Japan,” UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said earlier this month. “[Japan is] fully welcoming back the millions of tourists that each year choose to visit.”
