The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)’s statistics in 2018 shows that Japan received 1,526,500 visitors from U.S.A. (+11.0%), 552,400 from Australia (+11.6%) and 334,000 from U.K. (+7.6%). All of the results were annual record-high.
The monthly results in December 2018 were 126,900 visitors from U.S.A. (+9.2%), 63,600 from Australia (+11.0%) and 22,900 from U.K. (-0.2%) as the graph below illustrates. Visitors from U.S.A. and Australia each were record-high for December.
Visitors from U.S.A. broke the previous records in every month through 2018. In the U.S.A. market, media exposures about travel in Japan have recently increased. JNTO provided a business meeting opportunity focusing on luxury travel and developed a partnership with cruise companies in 2018.
Visitors from Australia also exceeded the previous results in every month through 2018, primarily boosted by extension of the air network and offering of special airfares for Japan.
For the U.K. market, JNTO had business discussions with local luxury travel companies and strengthened its promotional activities on sports in Japan, such as Rugby World Cup 2019 or skiing experiences.