Tokyo (VNA) – Tourists from SoutheastAsian nations are expected to be the main factor to help the Japanesegovernment realise its goal of welcoming 60 million visitors by 2030.
According to the Japan National TourismOrganisation (JNTO), the number of Southeast Asian tourists to Japan is growingimpressively while that from East Asia is showing signs of slowdown despiteaccounting for 73 percent of the total number of holidaymakers to Japan.
In 2018, tourists to Japan from Vietnamincreased by 26 percent and from the Philippines, 19 percent. The number oftourists from Thailand exceeded 1 million.
A report of the World Tourism Organisation(UNWTO) highlighted the potential of tourism from Southeast Asia. The number ofvacationers from this region is projected to surge to 187 million in 2030.
Southeast Asian visitors to Japan are not onlylikely to lead in the number but also in spending.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, in thefirst quarter of 2019, Vietnamese tourists ranked second in expenditure inJapan with 54,000 JPY (500 USD) per person, up 22 percent year-on-year, afterChina with 100,000 JPY each.
Spending by tourists from Thailand and thePhilippines were estimated at 40,000 JPY and 30,000 JPY respectively,surpassing that of those from developed economies such as the US and EU (around20,000 JPY).
In order to promote tourism from Southeast Asiancountries, the JNTO has built social networking sites such as Facebook andInstagram for separate countries in the region.-VNA
VNA