Tourist spending in Japan topped a record-breaking 4.4 trillion yen ($39.7 billion) in 2017, according to a recent survey by the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA). An increase of 17.8 percent from the previous year, this marked the first time that travel expenditures exceeded 4 billion yen and the fifth record year in a row.
By country and region, spending of visitors from China was highest with 1.69 trillion yen, or 38.4 percent of the total, followed by those from Taiwan with 574.4 billion yen (13.0 percent). Visitors from South Korea spent 512.6 billion yen (11.6 percent), followed by those from Hong Kong (341.5 billion yen, or 7.7 percent) and the U.S. (250.3 billion yen, or 5.7 percent). Overall, visitors from those five countries accounted for 76.4 percent of total tourist spending in Japan.
Travel expenditure per international visitor to Japan was 153,921 yen, up 1.3 percent from the previous year. By country and region, visitors from China spent most with 230,000 yen, followed by those from Australia at 226,000 yen and the U.K. at 215,000 yen.
The Survey on Consumption Trends of International Visitors to Japan is conducted by the JTA, an agency of the Ministry for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Established in October 2008, the agency serves as the Japanese government’s hub to enhance tourism-related measures toward the ultimate goal of creating a tourism nation.