Visitors to Japan in Oct. Exceed Prepandemic Level for 1st Time

   Tokyo, Nov. 15 (Jiji Press)--The number of visitors to Japan in October exceeded the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level for the first time, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.
   An estimated 2,516,500 foreign nationals visited the Asian nation during the reporting month, up 0.8 pct from October 2019, before the spread of COVID-19. The latest figure was up by around fivefold from the same month last year.
   After plummeting in 2020, the number of such visitors has been on a sharp rebound since autumn last year, in response to the relaxation and eventual removal of COVID-19-related border control measures and the weakening of the yen.
   The number of visitors from countries and regions other than mainland China, which was slow to remove restrictions on travel to Japan, was up 28 pct from the prepandemic level, reflecting an influx mainly from South Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States.
   The total number of foreign visitors to Japan in January-October came to 19,891,100, recovering to 73.9 pct of the pre-COVID-19 level.

(2023/11/15-17:14)

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