”Foreign visitors to Japan exceed 3 million for three consecutive months” - One quarter are Koreans = Korean report

Due in part to the weak yen, the number of foreign visitors to Japan has exceeded 3 million for three consecutive months. On the 20th, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced that 100,000 people visited Japan for business and leisure purposes in May.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan was counted at 3,041,000. This is a 9.6% increase compared to May 2019, before the COVID-19 virus pandemic. It is a 60% increase compared to the previous year.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million for the first time in March this year, setting a new record, and the number also reached 3,042,900 in April.
By country, the number of visitors from the United States, South Korea, Singapore, etc. increased, leading to an overall increase in visitors.
In May of this year, the number of visitors from South Korea was counted at 738,800, up 22.4% from 2019. This was 24.3% of all visitors, making it the largest number by country.
The increase in flights between the two countries, including charter flights, has played a part. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, China had the most visitors, at 545,400, down from 2019.
The number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan has yet to recover. Reuters reports that the yen's depreciation, which has fallen to its lowest level against the dollar in 34 years, is a factor in Japan's outlook.
JNTO has diagnosed that not only the number of visitors but also the quality of visitors has improved. According to the Japan Tourism White Paper released on the 18th of this month, the number of Japanese visitors for tourism and leisure purposes is increasing.
The average spending per person by tourists visiting Hong Kong last year increased by 31% compared to 2019. The average length of stay during the same period also increased from 6.2 nights to 6.9 nights.
According to the JNTO, tourists are expected to spend 1.75 trillion yen in the first quarter of 2024.
However, the number of foreign tourists continues to increase, raising concerns about "overtourism."
In response to this, there are discussions within Japan about introducing a separate price system for foreigners and Japanese nationals. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun noted that the labor shortage in the accommodation industry, including hotels and inns, is also accelerating.
In the "Short-term Economic Survey" released by the Bank of Japan in April this year, the employment judgment index (DI) for the accommodation and food service industry was "-70," more than double the index for the entire industry of "-30."
The DI is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies that answered that they have a "shortage" of employees from the percentage of companies that answered that they have an "excess" of employees in the relevant field. In other words, the more there is a labor shortage, the higher the negative figure.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun predicted that "the number of visitors planning to visit Japan is expected to continue to increase gradually," and that "capital investment will become increasingly important in the hospitality industry as the industry cuts labor force."