BANGKOK—As foreign tourism becomes increasingly important to the Japanese economy, Thai tourists stand out from the crowd by visiting places off the beaten path and making multiple trips.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), 1.32 million Thai tourists visited Japan in 2019, almost a 10-fold increase over the roughly 140,000 who did so in 2011.
While COVID-19 cooled travel temporarily, the number of Thai visitors again topped 1 million in 2023. There are now more Thai tourists coming to Japan than the other way around.
A three-day event in Bangkok titled Japan Expo drew about 700,000 people at a shopping mall in early February.
In addition to providing Japanese food and other products as well as travel pamphlets, Japanese musicians and idol groups performed at the event.
Prefectural governments and Japanese tourism companies set up booths, including one from Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan.
Takeshi Isobe ran the booth, and one of his eager visitors was Monrapat Naiyananont, 49, a tax accountant who had a photo of Hotokegaura, a rock formation in the Shimokita Peninsula, which is best viewed from a cruise boat.
“I’ve been to Japan four times,” Monrapat said. “Last year, I visited a facility in Aomori that displays items from the Nebuta Festival. This year, I want to see the festival itself as well as visit this site in the photo.”
He showed smartphone photos from places he’s visited in Japan, such as Kamikochi in Nagano Prefecture; Mount Shiroumadake, which straddles Nagano and Toyama prefectures; and Yutoku Inarijinja shrine in Saga Prefecture, which is well known among Thais because a TV drama and movie have filmed there.
“I’ve been to South Korea and China once each, but I love Japan because of its nature and people,” Monrapat said.
A Thai travel agency had pamphlets about various tours of Japan.
According to Dedy, who manned the booth, tours to Hokkaido in winter and to see cherry blossoms in spring were popular.
“The established stops are Tokyo and Mount Fuji, but free time must be set aside for shopping in Shibuya, Shinjuku and outlet malls,” Dedy said.
Cosplayers were among the visitors to the Japan Expo.
Three women dressed up as characters from a video game recently visited Tokyo.
Aom, a 20-year-old student, said, “While I went to Asakusa and Tokyo Disneyland, I particularly liked Akihabara for the AKB Theater and anime shops.”
Hajime Nakasugi, executive director of JNTO’s Bangkok office, explained that 73 percent of Thai visitors to Japan have come more than once, with 47 percent having made at least four trips.
He added that since many Thai visitors like to post photos on social media, they tend to prefer locations rarely known to other Thais.
Because of the spread of Japanese cuisine in Thailand, Nakasugi said many Thais want to taste the real thing when they visit Japan.
AloJapan.com