The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in September was down 99.2% from the same month in 2019, before the pandemic, to 17,700 amid continued travel restrictions due to the spread of the coronavirus, government data showed Wednesday.
Compared with a year earlier, the number rose 29.3%, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. It dropped below 20,000 for the first time in three months following spikes in arrivals in July and August due to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
International tourism continues to be affected by COVID-19, but following an increase in global vaccination rates, travel has partially resumed.
The highest number of international arrivals in September came from China with 4,000, followed by South Korea with 2,200, the United States with 1,700 and 1,000 from Vietnam.
On the other hand, the number of Japanese nationals going overseas stood at 52,400 last month, up 65.8% from a year earlier but down 97.0% from September 2019.