OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2024

Japan

Tourism in the economy and outlook 

Tourism remains a pillar of Japan’s growth strategy and is an important driver of regional development. However, the sector is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, tourism accounted for 0.6% of GDP and contributed 6 million jobs to the economy, or 8.8% of total employment. This is lower than in 2019, when tourism accounted for 2.0% of GDP and 9.7% of employment. In 2022, travel exports represented 5.5% of total service exports, up from the pandemic low of 2.8% in 2021, but still 22% down from pre-pandemic levels.

Japan was still impacted by travel restrictions through most of 2022, when the country recorded 3.8 million international tourist arrivals. Although this was a significant increase compared to the pandemic low of 245 000 international tourist arrivals in 2021, it only represented 12% of 2019 levels. In 2023, Japan showed signals towards an international tourism recovery, with 25.1 million tourists, 79% of 2019 levels. The top three source countries in 2023 were Korea (28%), Chinese Taipei (17%) and China (10%). This is a change from 2019 when China was the top source market (30%).

The domestic market remains an important driver of Japanese tourism. In 2022, a total of 232.5 million domestic tourist arrivals were recorded, up from the pandemic low of 141.8 million but still 74.6% of 2019 levels.

Tourism governance 

Established as an external bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency takes a leading role in tourism policy, tourism development and the promotion of Japan as a tourist destination. The Agency is also responsible for co-ordinating efforts between public and private tourism stakeholders and favouring the development of tourism destinations.

A Ministerial Council for the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism-Oriented Country was established in 2013 to unify government efforts on tourism. The Council is presided by the Prime Minister and attended by all Cabinet ministers.

The Japan National Tourism Organisation is under the jurisdiction of the Japan Tourism Agency and acts as the official tourism bureau in the country. The National Tourism Organisation promotes Japan as a tourism destination abroad, provides information to foreign tourists, and conducts actions to encourage visits to Japan.

In addition, the nine District Transport Bureaus, which are local branches of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, conduct tourism-related operations, in co-operation with local governments and private stakeholders to promote tourism throughout their areas of jurisdiction. Tourism departments in each District Transport Bureau focus on developing tourist-friendly environments and creating regional circuits for tourists. Additionally, together with the Japan Tourism Agency, they offer consultation services to local stakeholders on tourism initiatives for regional revitalisation.

The supplementary budget for Fiscal Year 2023 was JPY 68.9 billion. This included JPY 18.4 billion to attract foreign visitors to local regions, JPY 20 billion to add value to tourist destinations and tourism industries, and JPY 30.5 billion to prevent and restrain overtourism and promote sustainable tourism.

Japan: Organisational chart of tourism bodies

Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 2024.

Tourism policies and programmes

In 2023, Japan approved the new Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan, a three-year plan that aims to revitalise the tourism sector after the pandemic, focusing on sustainable tourism development. The Plan is structured around three key pillars: developing a sustainable tourism destination, recovering inbound travel and expanding the domestic market.

With the new Plan, Japan is focused on developing high value-added tourism products, to increase inbound tourism expenditure per capita to JPY 200 000, a 25% increase from pre-pandemic levels in current prices. In 2022-23, Japan allocated JPY 158.2 billion for the revitalisation of high value-added tourism destinations, programmes for digitalisation within the tourism sector, developing a sustainable tourism workforce and promoting sustainable tourism.

The Japan Sustainable Tourism Standard for Destinations helps promote the development of sustainable tourism destinations in the country. Based on international sustainability standards, these guidelines serve as a tool for local governments and Destination Management Organisations to engage in sustainable regional management through data measurement and medium-term planning, balancing the interests of travellers and local residents. As of April 2024, 35 regions used the Sustainable Tourism Standard. The goal is to have 100 regions using it by 2025.

In 2023, Japan also designated 11 Japanese destinations as Model Tourist Destinations for Creating Luxury Inbound Tourist Destinations in Regional Areas. The initiative aims to encourage international tourists to explore Japan beyond its metropolitan areas, and to attract more wealthy visitors to rural areas. Japan characterises the Model Tourist Destinations as places where tourists can experience nature, history and culture that are unique to Japan.

While domestic and international tourism demand are rapidly recovering in many Japanese destinations, concerns about the impact of overcrowding and bad tourist behaviour on the daily lives of residents increase. Tourist satisfaction has decreased in certain areas, in particular those with high tourist concentrations. To address these issues, relevant ministries and agencies have convened a task force to compile a package of measures to prevent and curb overtourism, such as improving the receiving environment, preventing manner violation and attracting more visitors to rural areas. Japan is also adopting crisis planning into tourism management. The Japan Tourism Agency has published national guidelines and a manual on preparing tourism crisis management plans to protect international visitors during crises (see box below).

Strategic initiatives to achieve recovery of inbound travel are valued at JPY 51.2 billion. They include the Open the Treasure of Japan! project, which supports tourism stakeholders develop special experiences for visitors, refinement of tourism resources and environment around the country, strategic promotion of Travels to Japan, and development of high value-added tourism destinations for inbound tourism in regional areas.

To encourage the expansion of the domestic market, JPY 21.6 billion was allocated to develop destinations, with a focus on workation promotion, accessible tourism for all, and a second hometown initiative.

Building resilience through crisis planning in Japan

The Japan Tourism Agency has published national guidelines and a manual on preparing tourism crisis management plans to protect international visitors during crises. Many local authorities lack the resources, including budget, staff, and multilingual capabilities, to handle foreign visitors in the event of a crisis. Additionally, few local authorities and tourism-related businesses have disaster regulations, which highlights the need to strengthen skills for responding to foreign tourists in emergencies.

The Guidelines for Preparing Manuals to Address the Needs of Foreign Tourists in the Event of a Crisis provide policies for specific responses by administrative organisations and businesses. Based on these guidelines, a detailed manual for tourism crisis management plans was published, offering key points and summaries for those handling disasters on site. A symposium was also held to promote the initiative, open to tourism stakeholders across all levels of government and members of the private sector.

As part of the APEC Tourism Working Group activities, a Tourism Crisis Management Communication Plan was developed for Asia-Pacific countries. The Plan outlines how to collect information from within an organisation and relevant authorities during a crisis, provide unified information to tourists and the media, facilitate the dissemination of information and promote recovery.

Statistical Profile

Japan: Domestic, inbound and outbound tourism

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
TOURISM FLOWS, THOUSAND
Domestic tourism1
Total domestic trips	561 779	587 103	293 408	268 208	417 854
Overnight visitors (tourists)	291 052	311 624	160 703	141 768	232 467
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	270 727	275 478	132 705	126 440	185 387
Nights in all types of accommodation	443 726	480 265	311 309	313 457	433 956
Hotels and similar establishments	435 959	472 615	307 462	310 784	430 023
Other collective establishments	7 767	7 650	3 847	2 673	3 933
Private accommodation	..	..	..	..	..
Inbound tourism2
Total international arrivals	31 192	31 882	4 116	246	3 832
Overnight visitors (tourists)	..	..	..	..	..
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	..	..	..	..	..
Top markets
Korea	7 539	5 585	488	19	1 013
Chinese Taipei	4 757	4 891	694	5	331
United States	1 526	1 724	219	20	324
Vietnam	..	..	..	27	284
Hong Kong, China	2 208	2 291	346	1	269
Nights in all types of accommodation	94 275	115 656	20 345	4 317	16 503
Hotels and similar establishments	93 892	115 297	20 100	4 276	16 473
Other collective establishments	383	359	245	41	30
Private accommodation	..	..	..	..	..
Outbound tourism
Total international departures	18 954	20 081	3 174	512	2 772
Overnight visitors (tourists)	..	..	..	..	..
Same-day visitors (excursionists)	..	..	..	..	..
Top destinations
..	..	..	..	..	..
..	..	..	..	..	..
..	..	..	..	..	..
..	..	..	..	..	..
..	..	..	..	..	..
TOURISM RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURE, MILLION JPY
Inbound tourism
Total international receipts	4 999 529	5 364 344	1 228 716	587 797	1 444 993
International travel receipts	4 648 362	5 020 374	1 142 541	533 559	1 214 733
International passenger transport receipts	351 168	343 970	86 174	54 237	230 260
Outbound tourism
Total international expenditure	3 104 607	3 175 483	729 893	360 914	784 009
International travel expenditure	2 232 381	2 318 068	587 350	310 842	590 569
International passenger transport expenditure	872 226	857 416	142 544	50 072	193 439

.. Not available

1. Trips from demand side surveys; Nights from supply side surveys.

2. Arrivals from demand side surveys; Nights from supply side surveys.

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink

Japan: Enterprises and employment in tourism

	Number of establishments1	Number of persons employed
	2016	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total	..	..	..	..	..	..
Tourism industries	796 440	6 450 000	6 640 000	6 310 000	6 010 000	..
Accommodation services for visitors	..	..	..	..	..	..
Hotels and similar establishments	48 963	640 000	670 000	610 000	540 000	..
Food and beverage serving industry	590 847	3 590 000	3 580 000	3 350 000	3 220 000	..
Passenger transport	33 571	920 000	840 000	820 000	810 000	..
Air passenger transport	922	60 000	50 000	50 000	60 000	..
Railways passenger transport	4 277	240 000	240 000	250 000	260 000	..
Road passenger transport	23 028	560 000	490 000	460 000	430 000	..
Water passenger transport	5 344	60 000	60 000	60 000	60 000	..
Passenger transport supporting services	66 772	650 000	680 000	690 000	670 000	..
Transport equipment rental	..	..	..	..	..	..
Travel agencies and other reservation services industry	..	..	..	..	..	..
Cultural industry	..	..	..	..	..	..
Sports and recreation industry	56 287	670 000	870 000	840 000	770 000	..
Retail trade of country-specific tourism characteristic goods	..	..	..	..	..	..
Other country-specific tourism industries	..	..	..	..	..	..
Other industries	..	..	..	..	..	..

.. Not available

1. Data refer to number of enterprises.

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink

Japan: Internal tourism consumption

Million JPY

	2021
	Domestic tourism expenditure	Inbound tourism expenditure	Internal tourism consumption
Total	..	..	..
Consumption products	9 268 000	572 000	10 298 000
Tourism characteristic products	5 270 000	410 000	6 137 000
Accommodation services for visitors	1 992 000	160 000	2 609 000
Food and beverage serving services	1 250 000	125 000	1 376 000
Passenger transport services	1 399 000	107 000	1 508 000
Air passenger transport services	450 000	56 000	507 000
Railways passenger transport services	776 000	42 000	818 000
Road passenger transport services	132 000	9 000	141 000
Water passenger transport services	41 000	..	42 000
Passenger transport supporting services	..	..	..
Transport equipment rental services	165 000	6 000	172 000
Travel agencies and other reservation services industry	50 000	2 000	52 000
Cultural services	130 000	3 000	134 000
Sports and recreation services	283 000	5 000	288 000
Country-specific tourism characteristic goods	..	..	..
Country-specific tourism characteristic services	..	..	..
Other consumption products	3 998 000	162 000	4 160 000
Tourism connected products	3 672 000	151 000	3 823 000
Non-tourism related consumption products	326 000	11 000	337 000
Non-consumption products	..	..	..

.. Not available

Source: OECD Tourism Statistics (Database).

Statlink