We all know that Singaporeans love Japan.
But do you know that we love the land of the rising sun so much that 300,000 visitors from Singapore flew there in the first half of this year?
According to a Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) report dated July 19, this is a 18.7 per cent increase from the first half of 2023, where some 252,703 visitors from Singapore travelled to Japan.
Just June 2024 alone, there were 58,900 visitors from Singapore, a 7.9 per cent increase from the 54,568 Singapore travellers who went Japan last June.
But as much as we love Japan, there are others who adore the country even more.
In the first half of 2024, there was a total of about 17.7 million visitors from around the world.
At the top of the visitors list is South Korea, which contributed to about 4.4 million of the travellers.
Next in line is China where about 3.06 million tourists from that country visited Japan from January to June this year.
This is a whopping 415.8 per cent increase from last year, where 594,768 Chinese travellers visited Japan.
Japan had toughened entry restrictions for travellers from China in early 2023, including needing proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of their flight, reported Nikkei Asia.
Third in place is Taiwan, where 2.98 million of them visited Japan in that period.
Record number visited Japan in December 2023
Last December saw a record number of 2.73 million tourists visit Japan.
It was the highest ever number of tourists for the month of December and about eight per cent higher than the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
In 2023, over 25 million travellers visited Japan, reported JNTO.
ALSO READ: Thailand targets tourism boost with longer stays for visitors, students, 'digital nomads'
