In a significant milestone, Japan welcomed 2 million visitors for the third consecutive month in August, marking a remarkable recovery to over 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels, according to official data released on Wednesday. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reported that the number of foreign visitors, both for business and leisure, reached 2.16 million last month.

These figures represent an impressive achievement, with visitor arrivals rebounding to 85.6 percent of the levels seen in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered widespread travel restrictions worldwide. While August's numbers dipped slightly from the post-pandemic high of 2.32 million visitors in July, the recovery is undeniably ongoing. Factors contributing to this resurgence include an increase in international flight availability and a weakened yen, making trips to Japan more affordable than they have been in decades.

Interestingly, visitor numbers from the United States, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels, as indicated by JNTO data. This positive trend helps offset the lagging visitor numbers from China, which still fall significantly below 2019 levels.

Notably, there were 364,100 visitors from China in August, marking a 16 percent increase over the previous month. This uptick can be attributed to Beijing's decision to lift restrictions on group travel to Japan. Chinese travellers accounted for approximately 30 percent of all visitors and contributed to 40 percent of all tourist spending in Japan back in 2019. The removal of the group travel ban is anticipated to provide a substantial boost to inbound visitor spending, as noted by Masato Koike, an economist at Sompo Institute Plus.

In August, 364,100 Chinese visitors arrived, marking a 16% increase, thanks to Beijing's lifted group travel restrictions. In 2019, Chinese tourists constituted 30% of all visitors and contributed 40% of tourist spending. Masato Koike from Sompo Institute Plus anticipates a substantial boost in inbound visitor spending due to the group travel ban removal.

Japan's tourism came to a halt for over two years during the pandemic. Recovery started when the government resumed visa-free travel in October 2022 and lifted all COVID controls in May 2023. From January to August 2023, over 15 million visitors arrived, still far from 2019's record pace of about 32 million, per JNTO data.