TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese accounted for the largest foreign tourist spending in Japan in 2023, according to preliminary data released by the Japanese Tourism Agency on Friday (March 29).
According to the report, tourist spending last year reached a record 5.3 trillion yen (NT$1.14 trillion). This was the first time tourism spending topped five trillion yen.
Last year’s figure was a 10% increase over 2019, the last full year where tourism was not affected by the COVID pandemic. The average travel expenditure of foreign tourists was 213,000 yen (NT$45,000) per person, an increase of 34.2% from 2019, per UDN.
Taiwan was ranked first in tourist spending with 783 billion yen (14.8%), followed by China with 576 billion yen (14.3%), South Korea with 574 billion yen (13.9%), the U.S. with 561 billion yen (11.4%), and Hong Kong with 480 billion yen (9%). These top five countries and regions accounted for 63.5% of Japan's foreign tourism spending.
As for where tourist money was spent, accommodation was the largest expense at 1.8 trillion yen (34.6%), followed by shopping at 1.4 trillion yen (26.5%), and food and drink at 1.19 trillion yen (22.5%). Compared with 2019 figures, spending on accommodations increased, while shopping decreased.