Meanwhile, a preliminary report from the Japan Tourism Agency showed that consumption by foreign visitors to Japan in April-June rose 18.0 % year on year to 2,525 billion yen, hitting a record high for a quarter.
Per person, however, inbound visitor spending dipped 0.1 % to 238,693 yen. While total consumption kept increasing thanks to higher accommodation fees, purchases of goods remained flat and tax-free sales to inbound travellers at department stores plummeted.
Still, both the number of foreign visitors and their consumption are on course to post new record highs on an annual basis.
“We are steadily on track,” Japan Tourism Agency chief Shigeki Murata said of the government’s targets to expand by 2030 the annual number of inbound visitors to 60 million and their consumption to 15 trillion yen.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
AloJapan.com