No. of foreign tourist arrivals in Japan falls in August

Tuesday 30th September, 04:44 AM JST

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memyselfI at 09:36 AM JST - 30th September

Dogdog- You are correct sir !!!! It's true. It's true. But the vidoe game convention is next month. Many tourists will come to the video game show mid-October.
soldave at 09:37 AM JST - 30th September

Why "not to mention other issues"? Mention them so they can be discussed.

I think it's a combination with the worldwide credit crunch, other places becoming more attractive tourist destinations, and probably a small amount can be attributed to Japan's policies and things that get said.
soldave at 09:38 AM JST - 30th September

Dogdog - think you misses "Get stared at" in your summary of a trip to Japan!
jerseyboy at 09:47 AM JST - 30th September

Dogdog...right on target, and the numbers back you up. By a margin of 2 to 1 more Japanese fled this island in August than folks wanting to come here. Objectively, all J-bashing aside, with the fuel surcharges and landing fees as high as they are here, Japan hardly represents any kind of value. Which, with the world economy heading south, does not bode well for J-tourism over the near-term.
mushroomcloud at 10:08 AM JST - 30th September

Another reason why tourism dropped for Japan in the month of August, tourists naturally preferred to go to China during this time, due to the Beijing Olympics.

I'm surprised no one pointed this out.
nigelboy at 10:15 AM JST - 30th September

Even the Japanese, when given a choice, prefer to spend their holidays outside of Japan.

Well it looks like only 1% of the Japanese population spent their holidays outside Japan in August.

Dogdog...right on target, and the numbers back you up

Actually, from Jan~April of this year, the # of foreign tourists to Japan increased 10% from the same period last year. As for the total international tourists arrivals, it grew only 5% for that same period.

http://www.jnto.go.jp/jpn/downloads/080929monthly.pdf http://unwto.org/facts/eng/pdf/barometer/UNWTOBarom082enExcerpt.pdf

Objectively, all J-bashing aside

As if you could...
BlackFlag at 10:33 AM JST - 30th September

swings and roundabouts, will be pats on the back a year from now if the numbers are up 1%. all means nothing
Spidey at 01:48 PM JST - 30th September

In relation to all the "foreigner friendly" policies Japan uses to attract foreign tourists...fingerprinting upon arrival, presenting passports when checking into a hotel, forgoing the right to privacy in the name of security and so on...and so on...plus all of the above mentioned...

Hate to say we told you so....but...

WE TOLD YOU SO!!

S
elbudamexicano at 02:58 PM JST - 30th September

Many Japanese in HOTELS, TAXIS, RESTAURANTS etc...should be "encouraged" to learn ENGLISH. I speak Japanese so I can tell the guy or gall to go to hell in their own language, but my dear mom just came to visit and sometimes she wanted to tell some of these lazy no good for nothings off, so I did it for her. It would be nice if people working at HOTELS in TOKYO, etc..with many foreign customers could actually speak at least ENGLISH and join the rest of Asia.
realist at 04:29 PM JST - 30th September

rid jr So there is no racism or xenophobia in Japan? It may be the high price of Fuel Surcharges that is one reason for the decline in the numbers of foreign tourists visitng Japan, but your allegation that there is no racism or xenophobia here beggars belief. Have you just recently arrived here? No-one of us "gaijin" (sic) who have lived here for any length of time would utter such nonsense. Opinion Polls have consistently shown that the around 80% of Japanese "want nothing to do with foreigners" and 80% of apartment/house owners in Tokyo refuse point blank to rent their properties to foreigners.

Despite the J government`s pathetic "Yokoso Japan" campaigns, compared to other Asian countries Japan is a cold house for foreign visitors. We are Outsiders - depsite the smiles and seemingly warm welcomes, behind the mask lies contempt for us with the majority of Japanese.

Your reasoning that the number of Chinese visitors has increased has nore to do with their recently gained ecvonomic strength than a love for Japan and the Japanese. Many Asians who come here just gaze in wonderment at what the Japanese have been able to do with all the treasures and monies they plundered from other Asian nations during the Second World War.

Increased air fares, the fact that Japan is not really the usual kind of tourist destination (dirty beaches, the fact that swimming pools are closed for most of the year, exorbitant accommodation prices compared to other Asian countries) means that a trips to japan will becom a low priority in future. Its already happening. The ascent of China means that it is becoming the No 1 tourist destination.

The election of Aso, recent xenophobic comments by ex Minister Nakayama and continued racist comments by the Governor of Tokyo do nothing to advanxce the cause of tourism in Japan.
Patrick Smash at 09:59 PM JST - 30th September

Japan is pricey, and cannot compete with other Asian countries in many ways. Fuel charges are part of it, expensive hotels and a lack of real tourist destinations are also a problem. As tourists go back home and spread the word that the place is essentially an expensive dump full of badly educated racists who cannot speak any English, these numbers will fall. That's how a recent tourist I know described Japan, not my own feelings of course. The cost of travel is shooting up, and people will be more careful where they go. Japan's increasingly xenophobic image (I know people who won't visit purely because they won't be fingerprinted) does not help matters at all. How they need the Olympics eh.
Pukey2 at 11:14 PM JST - 30th September

realist:

rid jr So there is no racism or xenophobia in Japan?

What do you expect from someone who's not in Japan and probably doesn't know anything?

Anyway, one of the reasons why more Hong Kongers have visited Japan is the new flights from Haneda. I had to go to HK earlier this year and I can tell you getting to Haneda (for me, anycase) is so much better than wasting over 2 hours getting to Narita.

And China - everything was cheap - accomodation, food and travel. And when I mean travel, I mean shinkansen-type trains. Spent 45 minutes on one (Shanghai to Suzhou) and that probably cost only a few hundred Jp yen. That wouldn't even be enough for 5 minutes on the Japanese shinkansen. Granted, Japan is cleaner in general, but I just felt there was more greenery in the Chinese cities. They make more of an effort to plant trees.
usaexpat at 11:19 PM JST - 30th September

Higher airfares, weak global economy, I am surprsied the fall in tourists wasn't greater.
cwhite at 03:52 AM JST - 1st October

If I was visiting Japan from abroad the last thing I would do would be to stay more than a day in Tokyo.
DickTaterTots at 03:18 AM JST - 2nd October

It's surprising that the number of tourists hasn't dropped further, considering the obscene prices of flights these days compared to just a few years ago, and the poor state of much of the world economy.

I think more people nowadays though realize that Japan doesn't have to be restrictively expensive to travel to/in, and the strong Euro may make it seems like a reasonably priced destination for visitors from Europe. Still, I think that tourism will drop a little more during the later half of this year.