Visitors wearing Kimono at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, Japan, on Saturday, April 13, 2024. The government will introduce a new preclearance system from next January, starting with tourists from Taiwan, NHK reported on Friday. Visitors will be able to complete most of their immigration screening before departure to help shorten the time taken for entry procedures on arrival, according to the broadcaster.
The decision comes with record numbers of tourists already visiting the country. Around 17.8 million people came in the first half, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation. June also marked the fourth straight month with more than 3 million visitors.
The slump in the yen has turned Japan from a pricey bucket-list trip to a relatively inexpensive tourism and shopping destination. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is set to declare that ¥8 trillion of spending by foreign visitors is within sight in 2024 at a meeting to promote tourism on Friday, the Nikkei reported.
Underscoring inbound travel demand, ANA Holdings Inc. said it will start three European routes from Haneda this winter starting with Milan in December, Stockholm in January and Istanbul in February.
“We will continue to expand our network” All Nippon Airways President Shinichi Inoue said at a news conference Friday. In addition, ANA started daily flights to Paris and Munich in July ahead of the Paris Olympics and plans to restart its Haneda-Vienna route in August.
Japan is seeing strong demand for inbound travellers thanks to the weak yen, which will continue to increase, according to Inoue.
The influx is providing a boost to Japan’s fragile economy. The currency hit a 38-year low against the dollar earlier this month as the gap in interest rates between Japan and the US continues to keep downward pressure on the currency. While the weakness in the yen is attracting tourists and shoppers to Japan, it is also fueling the strongest inflation cycle in decades, a factor that is dragging on domestic consumer spending.
There has also been a growing backlash among some locals annoyed by the ever-increasing influx.
Kyoto’s local district council has banned visitors from the narrow private streets of the Gion district, while local authorities in Fujikawaguchiko erected a barrier to stop tourists from taking photos at a convenience store with Mt. Fuji in the background.