Japan arrivals decline for sixth straight month
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Visitors to Japan fell for a sixth consecutive month in January as a stronger yen and slowing global economy reduced tourism, according to statistics published by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).
Bloomberg reported that the number of visitors in January fell 18.4% year-on-year to 580,000. The last time tourism declined for six straight months was during the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the organization was reported saying in a statement.
Arrivals from South Korean declined the most at 52.3% as the won weakened against the yen. The number of visitors from the US fell 12.7%, while Taiwanese and Australian arrivals dropped 9.0% and 8.7% respectively.
These declines were however, offset by strong gains from China. Arrivals from Hong Kong rose 34.1%, while mainland arrivals grew 31.4%, due to increased travel in the Chinese New Year holidays, the JNTO reported. The results were not comparable however, as the holiday period fell in February last year.
Japan aims to lure 10 million foreign visitors in 2010, and double that number again by 2020. 8.3 million tourists arrived in Japan in 2007.
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