February 3, 2025

Visitor Spending in Japan Hit a Record High of 8 trillion Yen in 2024, Equal to that of the Apparel Market

The influx of visitors to Japan is boosting the Japanese economy. Consumption is expected to reach 8.1395 trillion yen in 2024, with the number of visitors projected to be 36,869,900, both of which are record highs. Additionally, the weak yen has provided support, elevating consumption levels to align with the market size of the domestic apparel industry. To enhance spending by visitors to Japan, it's crucial to increase per capita expenditure and attract tourists to regional areas while also considering the sustainability of tourism resources.

The Japan Tourism Agency announced on January 15th that foreign visitors spent 2.3108 trillion yen in Japan from October to December 2024. This amount exceeded the 2.1402 trillion yen recorded in April-June 2024, establishing a new quarterly record. Per capita spending was 237,000 yen, an increase from 170,000 yen in the same period in 2019.

Reflecting on the overall year, both spending and visitor numbers reached new heights. The previous record for spending was 5.3065 trillion yen in 2023, while the number of visitors peaked at 31.88 million in 2019. In 2024, both spending and visitor counts are expected to exceed levels achieved before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its role as a driving force in the Japanese economy is also increasing. In 2024, its consumption figure of 8.1 trillion yen is equivalent to the market size of the apparel industry, which is a segment of domestic retail. According to the Yano Research Institute, the apparel retail market size in 2023 reached 8.3564 trillion yen.

When comparing the annualized export value of major items from the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics for January to November 2024, the total is second only to automobiles, at 17.7 trillion yen. This figure surpasses semiconductors and other electronic parts, which account for 6.1 trillion yen, semiconductor manufacturing equipment at 4.4 trillion yen, and steel, among others.

The challenge going forward is to ensure the sustainability of spending by visitors to Japan.

Despite risks like geopolitics and natural disasters, there is potential for the number of visitors to Japan to keep increasing. However, the country is now entering a phase where issues such as overtourism (also known as tourist pollution) and coexistence with local communities are being questioned.