Japan is entering the summer travel season with hopes that its over-reliance on Chinese tourists will diminish, as strained bilateral relations have led to a notable drop in visitors from its largest source market.
According to tourism officials, rather than depending on the flow of Chinese travelers as in the past, Japan is stepping up efforts to attract visitors from other Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, along with a growing number of European arrivals. This pivot is seen as a strategy to stabilize international visitor numbers amid geopolitical volatility.
Travel agencies and hotels in popular destinations including Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto report that bookings from South Korean and Southeast Asian visitors are surging, partially offsetting the shortfall from the Chinese market. European tourists are also expected to enrich the visitor mix, reducing the risk of dependency on a single market.
The Japanese government previously set a target of attracting 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030, and diversifying source markets is viewed as key to achieving this goal sustainably.
However, experts warn that the decline in spending by Chinese tourists—known for their high average expenditure—could impact retail and service revenues in major cities, requiring businesses to adjust their strategies to cater to new segments of visitors.
