On Wednesday, 15th April, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) reported that the country saw a 2.5 percent increase in spending by foreign travellers, showing how the sector’s positive growth continues despite the significant drop in arrivals from the Chinese Mainland.
Indeed, the agency saw foreign arrivals rise to a record-breaking 3.6 million in March of this year, reflecting an increase of 3.5 percent from the total recorded during the same period last year.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, this growth was primarily driven by South Korean tourists who made up 795,600 or 15 percent of the recorded total, as well as Taiwanese visitors who accounted for 653,300.
This begs the question: in a politically-charged time when tensions are palpable between Japan and China, will this shying away of inbound Chinese tourism have an adverse impact.
Absent but active
The political and socio-economic tensions between China and Japan were actually noted during the recently-concluded Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo where, according to insiders, the Japanese delegation opted out of the event, seemingly at the last minute.
But while Japan’s MITE absence caught the attention of keen-eyed participants and relevant authorities report a 60 percent drop in Chinese arrivals, some experts refer to the fall-off as significant, but not catastrophic.
Before November 2025, China stood as Japanese tourism’s largest source market, but the circumstances have changed.
But this drastic shortfall has barely had an impact on the industry, as it is mature enough to already have a more diverse range of markets to cater to and to welcome.
As stated in the previous section, South Korea is now Japan’s largest source market with arrivals totalling 1.18 million as of mid-February, an increase of around 22 percent.
Political differences notwithstanding, the United States also remains a key market for Japan, as arrivals from that country were up 14 percent as of the end of Q1-2026.
Visitor numbers from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines are also on an upward trajectory; the same goes for several countries in Western Europe.
Indeed, European visitor numbers are up by 52 percent as of end-March, and any shortfall in revenues is actually being covered by the spending of long-staying visitors from as far as France, Germany, and Italy.
Can Japan hit record highs this month?
Spring has long been a busy time for the Japanese tourism sector, what with foreign nationals flying in to experience hanami (flower-viewing) at the height of sakura (cherry blossom) season.
This was particularly true in April of last year: according to a report from Trading Economics, the number of foreign tourists shot up by 28.5 percent year on year, coming to a total of 3.91 million.
If we look at these stats and the most recent report from March 2026, we can confidently say that April will see more positive growth in terms of foreign arrival numbers.
Experts from both Oxford Economics and Australia’s James Cook University opine that it is highly unlikely that visitor numbers from China will be bouncing back any time soon.
However, Japan remains unfazed, ramping up promotional activity among its other Asian neighbours as well as the West; standing proof that tourism growth is always possible even in the face of adversity.
