Japan sees record July for tourism despite 37pc drop in visitors from HK

Japan welcomed a record-breaking 3.437 million international visitors in July, marking a 4.4 percent increase compared to the same month last year. However, this overall surge contrasted sharply with a significant slump in travelers from Hong Kong.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), just 176,000 visitors arrived from Hong Kong last month—a decrease of nearly 37 percent year-on-year. This figure also represents the third consecutive month of declining tourist numbers from the city.

The continued drop is widely attributed to widespread circulation of doomsday prophecies forecasting a catastrophic earthquake in Japan throughout July, which deterred many Hong Kong travelers.

Despite the decline from Hong Kong, several key markets showed robust growth.

Travelers from mainland China formed the largest group of visitors, with 974,500 arrivals—an annual increase of more than 25 percent. South Korean travelers, though down approximately 10 percent, still constituted the second-largest group with 678,600 visitors.

Additionally, July set new records for incoming tourists from Taiwan, the United States, and France, underscoring the broad-based recovery and growing appeal of Japan as a summer destination.