Japan saw record visitation in February, rising by 6.4 percent yearly to 3.46 million, despite a significant drop in Chinese visitation.
According to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), cited by Reuters, visitation from China fell by 45.2 percent yearly in February, to just 396,400.
This comes as diplomatic tension continues between China and Japan, following comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan and China’s subsequent notice to citizens to not visit the country.
Despite the drop in Chinese visitation, the arrival numbers were boosted by the Chinese New Year holiday falling solely in February this year.
South Korea was Japan’s top visitor source market in February, with 1.09 million visitors – up by 28.2 percent yearly. Taiwan was the second largest source, with 603,600 arrivals – up by 36.7 percent yearly.
