Hong Kong tourist arrivals in Japan surge by nearly 55pc in July

The number of Hong Kong tourists visiting Japan skyrocketed by 54.8% in July compared to the same month last year, playing a key role in what became a record-breaking month for Japan's overall tourism industry.

According to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) on August 19, this massive surge from Hong Kong was part of a broader trend of strong recovery from other East Asian markets. Visitors from South Korea increased by 31.9 percent, and arrivals from Taiwan grew by 26.4 percent, exceeding 700,000 for the first time in a single month.

This influx helped push Japan's total number of foreign visitors in July to 3,442,100, setting a new all-time high for the month and reversing a four-month trend of year-on-year decline. 

The JNTO noted that the dramatic growth figures from markets like Hong Kong were partly due to a "base effect," as tourism numbers in July of the previous year had been suppressed by online rumors of a major earthquake.

In stark contrast to the boom from Hong Kong and other regions, the number of visitors from mainland China continued its sharp decline, falling by 56.1 percent.

The Japanese government attributes this ongoing drop to factors including travel advisories issued by Beijing and a reduced number of flights.

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