In recent years, China, as the country with the largest proportion of foreign tourists traveling to Japan, has made great contributions to Japan’s tourism industry.
Data source nippon.com
According to the latest tourist data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan in 2019 increased by 2.2% compared with 2018, reaching 31.88 million. , breaking the historical record for 7 consecutive years.
And the amount of money Chinese people spend when traveling in Japan has always ranked first! Including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the Chinese actually contribute half of the country supporting Japan's tourism industry.
As of the afternoon of August 20, the number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia in Japan has reached 59,090.
The Japan Tourism Agency released estimates on June 17 that only 1,700 foreigners visited Japan in May, which was lower than the previous record for the lowest number in a single month, which was 2,900 in April, for two consecutive months. The year-on-year decrease was 99.9%, the lowest in history since 1964.
The COVID-19 epidemic is undoubtedly a huge blow to Japan, which has been based on "tourism as a country" since 2003. According to a research report published by senior economic researchers at Japan's Nomura Research Institute, due to the emergence of this unexpected situation, the losses of Japan's tourism-related industries may exceed 2.475 billion yen (approximately US$22.4 billion), accounting for approximately 0.45% of Japan’s GDP in 2019.
On August 17, Japan’s Cabinet Office released a quick estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) from April to June. Excluding the impact of price changes, it actually fell 7.8% from the previous quarter, and fell 27.8% year-on-year on an annual basis. It has shown negative growth for three consecutive quarters, and the decline exceeded the period from January to March 2009 (a decline of 17.8% at an annual rate). This is the largest decline since 1980.
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, Japan declared a state of emergency and economic activities were sluggish. The rapid report of gross domestic product (GDP) from April to June released by the Japanese Cabinet Office on August 17 excluded the impact of price changes. , actually fell 7.8% from the previous quarter, and fell 27.8% year-on-year at an annual rate. It has shown negative growth for three consecutive quarters, with a decline greater than that from January to March 2009 (a seasonally adjusted annual decline of 17.8%), setting the largest decline in Japan since World War II.
In order to promote the development of the tourism industry and stimulate consumption, the Japanese government launched the "Go To Campaign" with a total budget of 1.7 trillion yen. It is planned to promote the development of the tourism transportation industry, catering industry, etc. by providing subsidies to local governments, catering industries, hotels, etc. It is divided into the first part "Go To Travel" and the second part "Go To Eat". With the arrival of Japan's traditional festival Obon, the epidemic continues to worsen and ushered in a second wave of growth.
On July 22, 2020, the "Go To Travel" campaign led by the Tourism Agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan kicked off. The "Go To Travel" campaign includes discounts on travel expenses and the issuance of sightseeing coupons. When people travel, general expenses can be subsidized by the government, but there are also upper limits. For example, the subsidy for one night's accommodation must not exceed 20,000 yen. Due to the serious epidemic situation in Tokyo, passengers whose departure and destination are Tokyo will not be able to enjoy the discount.
Amid doubts, the second "Go To Eat" campaign is about to begin. "Go To Eat" is a campaign to support the catering industry, centered on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and is expected to be gradually implemented in late August.
The epidemic is so serious, why does Japan still encourage everyone to travel? The reason is simple: the epidemic has restricted the movement of people, and the number of tourists from China to Japan has dropped sharply. Statistics from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) show that the number dropped to 30 in May. When Chinese people cannot come, they can only rely on internal circulation. .
The tourism industry was still booming last year, but now the number of bankrupt companies in tourist hotspots is: Tokyo has the largest number of cases, reaching 109; followed by Osaka Prefecture (46 cases), Tokyo and Osaka Governments (155 cases) accounted for 34.9% of the total. Others ranking high include Hokkaido (24 cases); Shizuoka Prefecture (21 cases).
Chinese tourists, who accounted for 33% of tourism to Japan, spent 1.77 trillion yen last year
In recent years, a large number of Chinese tourists have traveled and shopped in Japan during major festivals every year. Practitioners related to Japan's tourism industry, such as hotels and retail industries, will also be ready to welcome Chinese tourists early.
According to statistics from the Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Office (JNTO), 9.594 million Chinese visited Japan in 2019, accounting for 33% of foreign tourists visiting Japan. The total consumption is approximately 1.77 trillion yen (approximately 113.67 billion yuan based on the exchange rate on January 1, 2020), accounting for as high as 40%.
In 2018, the total consumption of foreign tourists in Japan was approximately 4.5189 billion yen, while the market size of the Japanese paper industry in 2018 was approximately 5.3199 billion yen, two The difference in amount is not big.
In other words, the market size of the tourism industry is already equivalent to that of Japan's papermaking industry, which ranks 50th, and has become one of the pillar industries of the Japanese economy.
In terms of changes in total consumption amount, except for the decline in total consumption amount in 2011 due to the influence of various factors, the market size has always maintained a growth momentum from 2010 to 2018. The largest increase was in 2015, reaching 71.5%. After 2015, the increase began to return to normal levels, and has remained stable at around 10% in recent years.
We all know that the ultimate goal of developing a certain industry is nothing more than making more money. There are two main factors that affect the total consumption amount, one is the total number of tourists, and the other is the per capita consumption amount of tourists. So what are the main factors driving the development of Japan’s tourism industry?
The answer is the total number of tourists.
The per capita consumption of foreign tourists in Japan is 150,000 yen, and the contribution value of Chinese tourists has surged
In terms of the per capita consumption of foreign tourists in Japan, from 2010 to 2018, the growth rate has never exceeded 20 %, which is around ±5% in most years, and has been maintained at around 150,000 yen/person in recent years. The growth rate of the total number of tourists to Japan is much greater, especially from 2012 to 2015, with an annual growth rate of more than 30%. Therefore, the main reason for the rapid expansion of the Japanese tourism industry's market size is not the increase in per capita consumption, but the increase in the number of tourists visiting Japan.
It is worth mentioning that the growth rate of per capita consumption has exceeded 10% in only two years. In 2014 and 2015, the growth rates were 10.6% and 16.5% respectively. The reasons behind this I believe you can guess that it is also due to the contribution of Chinese tourists.
Around 2015, due to the impact of comprehensive factors such as the depreciation of the yen, Chinese tourists traveling to Japan broke out in a "bulk buying" campaign, and per capita consumption increased abnormally in the past two years. After the yen exchange rate returned to normal levels, per capita consumption began to stabilize, and has remained stable at around 150,000 yen per capita in recent years.
Before 2014, Korean tourists had always been the main force of foreign tourists to Japan, and their number was far ahead of other countries. However, since the Japanese government opened individual tourist visas to Japan for Chinese tourists in 2009, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan has gradually increased.
The emergence of the “bump buying” campaign in 2015 completely ignited the enthusiasm of Chinese tourists to travel to Japan. In 2015, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan reached 4.99 million, a growth rate of 107% compared to 2014, surpassing South Korea in one fell swoop and becoming the country with the largest proportion of foreign tourists to Japan every year. In 2019, due to various factors, the number of Korean tourists to Japan dropped significantly. Fortunately, the number of Chinese tourists continues to grow rapidly, so the number of Japanese tourists to Japan has not declined, but has maintained a small growth.
However, due to the sharp decline in the number of Korean tourists to Japan in 2019, Chinese tourists play an even more important role in Japan's tourism industry. In 2019, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan was 9.594 million, accounting for more than 30% of the total number of tourists to Japan. South Korea, which ranked second, only accounted for 17.5% of the total number of tourists to Japan, leaving it far behind.
Conclusion
Due to geographical proximity, cultural connectivity, complementary tourism, and convenient consumption, Japan has become known as the back garden of Chinese tourists. Compared with European and American countries, Japanese and Chinese cultures are similar. Ordinary Chinese can easily accept Japan's cultural environment and can find a familiar sense of history in Japan. In addition, Chinese young people are keen on Japanese animation and fashion, and Japan's appeal is growing day by day. , even after the epidemic, Chinese people who have been depressed for a long time are more willing to go to neighboring countries such as Japan.
For Japan, Chinese tourists have become the most important tourist group, far more important than any other country. What can be expected is that after the epidemic, Japan will also formulate corresponding tourism regulations for Chinese tourists. Stimulus policy, are you looking forward to it? Let’s talk~
The above is true.
Source of article: Titanium Media APP