Tokyo, June 3, 2016 – TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today released a new study showing the fastest growing inbound markets for Japan. The study examined markets showing the greatest year-on-year increase in travel interest to Japan and highlighted China’s increasing importance as an inbound source of travellers to Japan, with interest on TripAdvisor having grown by 130 percent year-over-year, far outpacing growth from other inbound markets. On average, there has been a 15 percent year-on-year growth in global traveller interest to Japan.
The TripAdvisor study highlights Japanese cities with the greatest increase in interest from international travellers; top searched Japanese cities with the highest average international traveller review rating for accommodations, attractions and eateries; as well as the top searched attractions types for these inbound travellers.
China leads the tourism boom to Japan
China leads the markets for inbound travel to Japan, with interest having grown by 130 percent since 2015. A record number of 19.73 million people visited Japan in 2015, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization, marking a 47 percent increase from 2014. Chinese travellers accounted for one-fourth of the total inbound arrivals to the country.
Other notable markets from within Asia-Pacific with a growing interest in travel to Japan include Singapore, Indonesia and Taiwan, which also show signs of promise as important markets for inbound tourism to the country.
Japan also continues to be a much desired tourist destination for long-haul travellers from North America and Europe.
Top 10 inbound markets with biggest increase in traveller interest to Japan1:
(Showing year-on-year growth)
1. China 130%
2. Singapore 37%
3. Indonesia 30%
4. Taiwan 25%
5. Canada 24%
6. South Korea 22%
7. Spain 21%
8. Italy 19%
9. United Kingdom 16%
10. Australia 10%
*Exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points
Growing international travellers' appetite for off the beaten path destinations in Japan
Of all Japanese cities, Kanazawa has seen the biggest increase in travel interest from international travellers at 65 percent, followed by Ishigaki and Takayama at 52 percent and 44 percent, respectively.
Top 10 Japanese cities with the biggest increase in international traveller interest2:
(Showing year-on-year growth)
1. Kanazawa 65%
2. Ishigaki 52%
3. Takayama 44%
4. Nagasaki 41%
5. Fujikawaguchiko-machi 33%
6. Onna-son 33%
7. Kobe 26%
8. Sapporo 25%
9. Nikko 25%
10. Osaka 24%
*Exact percentages rounded to zero decimal points
Of the top 10 Japanese cities that have seen the biggest increase in international traveller interest, Takayama received the highest praises from international visitors across all business categories on TripAdvisor, including eatery (4.32 out of 5), accommodation (4.18 out of 5), and attraction (4.23 out of 5).3
Nature and cultural heritage a big draw for inbound visitors4
A closer look at the top searched attraction types for international travellers in the past year found that the country’s natural beauty, rich culture, iconic sights and landmarks have been a huge draw for inbound visitors to Japan.
Cultural attractions have a huge appeal to international travellers researching for things to do in Osaka and Kanazawa. Onna-son and Ishigaki were mostly researched for their diverse outdoor offerings. International travellers looked to be particularly drawn to Takayama and Nagasaki for their unique sights and landmarks.
“The latest TripAdvisor Inbound Study for Japan not only reaffirms China’s significance as a major source of inbound tourism for Japan, but also suggests that inbound travel is being driven by the country’s diverse tourism offerings across different regions,” said Aaron Hung, Director of Partnerships, APAC, TripAdvisor.
“The surging interest in Kanazawa and Ishigaki is evidence that international travellers are keen to discover more of Japan. With millions of reviews and opinions on Japanese accommodations, restaurants and attractions, TripAdvisor is well-poised to enable traveller discovery. Tourism businesses and destination marketing organisations across Japan should capitalise on this opportunity and maximise their use of TripAdvisor to engage and attract global audience.”
-Ends-
Methodology
1 The TripAdvisor ranking of top inbound markets with biggest increase in traveller interest was based on the largest year-over-year increases in share of international traffic sessions targeting Japan on TripAdvisor, comparing 1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015 to 1 March 2015 – 29 February 2016. Markets featured have a minimum of 500,000 traffic sessions from international travellers during a 12-month period.
2The TripAdvisor ranking of top Japanese cities with the greatest increase in traffic from international travellers was based on the largest year-over-year increases in share of international traffic sessions to destination pages on TripAdvisor, comparing 1 March 2014 – 28 February 2015 to 1 March 2015 – 29 February 2016.
3The average review ratings were based on the average international traveller review ratings for accommodations, attractions and eateries on TripAdvisor as of 6 March 2016.
4Measuring top searched attraction types based on overall session counts to attraction pages for the top ten Japanese cities with the greatest increase in traffic from international travellers on TripAdvisor from 1 August 2015 to 1 February 2016.
