Last year reportedly saw Japan chalk up a comparable 2.2% increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting its shores as its twelve-month tally exceeded the 30 million mark for the first time.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming citing official figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the nation welcomed some 31.88 million foreign holidaymakers during the twelve months to the end of December with their aggregate expenditure rising by 6.5% year-on-year to top a record ¥4.81 trillion ($43.65 billion).

Maintained growth:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that this latter sum had represented a seventh consecutive annual escalation courtesy of a per capita spend for every foreign visitor that had swelled by 3.5% year-on-year to reach approximately ¥158,458 ($1,430).

China clout:

The government data reportedly also showed that Chinese citizens had accounted for almost a third of all those who had visited Japan last year with their 9.59 million reckoning representing a boost of 14.5% year-on-year. However, worsening political relations between Tokyo and Seoul had purportedly pushed the annual tally for those from nearby South Korea down by roughly 25.9% to slightly over 5.58 million.

Accumulative advantages:

Inside Asian Gaming reported that the information from the JNTO moreover indicated that Chinese tourists had accounted for roughly 36.8% of the cash spent by foreign holidaymakers last year at ¥1.77 trillion ($16.06 billion) although their individual rate had dropped by a comparable 5.3% to slightly over ¥210,981 ($1,910). By contrast and visitors to Japan from Taiwan had purportedly expended an aggregate ¥555.6 billion ($5.04 million) while the nation’s hosting of the 2019 Rugby World Cup had helped to drive the average spend by British tourists up by 9.3% to ¥241,530 ($2,190).

Casino confidence:

Japan is due to host the 2020 Summer Olympics from July and its government is reportedly hoping that this year will end with approximately 40 million tourists having visited its shores. The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is furthermore purportedly optimistic that the forthcoming premiere of a trio of Las Vegas-style integrated casino resorts will help his country to maintain this steady stream of foreign visitors well into the future.