Russian tourist flow to Japan in January and February increased despite coronavirus

The tourist flow from Russia to Japan in January-February 2020 increased by 26,7% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 15 100 people. At the same time, almost all other Japanese source markets showed a serious decline in the number of arrivals.

So, even in February, the tourist flow to Japan from the Russian Federation amounted to 6 700 tourists (+ 19,6% compared to last year).

The growth of the Russian tourist flow to Japan in January and February, amid growing panic around coronavirus, looks phenomenal against the background of the fall of almost all other key entry markets in Japan.

In general, inbound tourism to Japan in January and February fell by 29,2% compared with the same period in 2019, and only in February the decline in annual terms was 58,3%.

Compared to the same period in 2019, of the TOP-20 source markets of Japan only six markets grew in January-February 2020: these are the Philippines (+ 31,1%), Russia (+ 26,7%), Vietnam (+ 20,8%) , Indonesia (+ 8,9%) and Spain (+ 6,6%).

According to market experts, the increase in the number of boards and the high frequency of flights to Japan from the cities of the Russian Far East contributed to the growth of tourist flow.