The number of foreign visitors to Japan in October more than doubled from the previous month to 498,600, government data showed Wednesday, primarily driven by an uptick in arrivals from South Korea.
The figure, which follows the lifting of COVID-19 entry restrictions on Oct. 11, is still down 80% from the same month in 2019 prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
The number of people traveling overseas stood at 349,600 in October, slightly higher than the 319,165 recorded in September.
By country and region, 122,900 people came from South Korea, accounting for the largest group. That was followed by 36,200 from Hong Kong, 35,000 from Taiwan and 34,100 from Thailand.
China, which had been Japan’s top source of foreign tourists prior to the pandemic, lagged behind with 21,500 visitors due to its own COVID-19 restrictions. In October 2019, 730,631 people arrived from China.
“A significant increase in arrivals to Japan from East Asian markets except China, as well as a steady recovery from many markets in Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, Australia and the Middle East, have contributed to the big jump in this month’s figure,” the JNTO said in a statement.
“To rebuild ourselves as a tourism-oriented nation, we need to make a sharp rebound in inbound tourism by raising the ability of destinations and the tourism sector to ‘earn’ money in a sustainable way, and by inviting more people to visit rural areas and promote their spending.”