Among all source markets in Japan Russia leads in terms of growth of tourist traffic

Russian tourist flow to Japan continues to show double-digit growth. During the first three quarters of 2018, 68,500 citizens of the Russian Federation visited this country, which is 26% more than in the same period last year. According to the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), in terms of dynamics of tourist arrivals Russia is the leader among all source markets in Japan (+ 26%), including Vietnam (+ 25.6%), Italy (+ 21.1%), the Philippines (+ 20.9%) and Thailand (+ 16.3%). By the number of tourists, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States are the leaders on Japanese market. In total, over the nine months, 23,468,500 people visited Japan (+ 10.7% compared to the same period in 2017). In September 2018, 7,600 of Russian tourists visited Japan (+ 17.1% by September 2017). “This figure may be even higher if there was no typhoon, which came to Osaka and the earthquake in Hokkaido. In connection with these events, flights from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Sapporo and from Vladivostok to Osaka were canceled,” the JNTO stressed. The natural disasters of September affected the total foreign traffic: in the first month of autumn, Japan hosted 2,159,600 foreign tourists, which is 5.3% less than in the same period in 2017. According to one of the JNTO scenarios, in 2018 about 95 thousand Russians can visit Japan, which will be a record figure for the Russian market. The growth of tourist traffic from Russia is connecting with the easing of visa procedures, primarily for those tourists who travel to Japan in organized group. To obtain permission to enter Japan for up to 30 days it is sufficient for such travelers to present a passport and visa application form.