Arrivals of foreign-operated cruise ships to Japan are set to return to levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic when their operations resume in March after experiencing a three-year hiatus, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
Out of 42 major ports, a total of 89 arrivals are scheduled in March at 23 points of entry across 22 prefectures, while discussions by local governments and ship operators are progressing for arrivals at other ports, the survey showed. Before the pandemic in March 2019, Japan saw 125 dockings at the 42 ports.
Out of 2.15 million people who visited Japan on cruise ships in 2019, 80% were from China. The visitors from around the world spent ¥80.5 billion ($590 million) during their stay, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.