Popular travel destination breaks annual tourism record, sets new goal of 60M visitors

Visitors from acold and wide person been traveling to Japan, with the state breaking a tourism grounds successful 2024.

Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, projections indicated that astir 33.4 cardinal travelers visited Japan, according to the country’s authorities site. Nearly 3 cardinal Americans visited the state successful 2024.

Hokuto Asano, archetypal caput astatine the Embassy of Japan, told Fox News Digital that the fig of visitors past twelvemonth ended up reaching 36 million.

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Yukiyoshi Noguchi, who is the counsellor astatine the embassy, said 2024 was declared the "U.S.-Japan Tourism Year" by some governments. 

Japanese officials archer Fox News Digital the state hopes to treble its caller visitant grounds by reaching 60 cardinal tourists by 2030. (iStock)

"So past year, successful 2024, we received astir 3 cardinal Americans successful Japan, which was a grounds high," said Noguchi.

Asano shared that Japan has a program to astir treble visitors successful the adjacent 5 years.

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"In 2030, we privation the extremity to [reach] 60 cardinal people. … We volition marque an effort to summation [and] invited much tourists from planetary countries. So that's wherefore we decided to put successful the section area. Other than Kyoto, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, we anticipation to promote tourist[s] to sojourn these destinations," said Asano.

Thirty percent of visitors said they experienced overcrowding astatine fashionable spots, according to a Japan Tourism Board Foundation and the Development Bank of Japan report.

Japan is known for its hot springs (onsens) and bathing facilities surrounded by inns, drafting tourists from astir the world.

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"In 2030, we privation the extremity to [reach] 60 cardinal people. … We volition marque an effort to summation [and] invited much tourists from planetary countries," said Asano. (Fox News Digital)

Many of Japan’s onsen towns person imposed alleged bathing taxes, Fox News Digital reported. 

"Many section governments successful Japan [are] reasoning astir introducing a tourism tax. This is due to the fact that galore tourists sojourn there, but they don't person … a nationalist toilet for tourists oregon immoderate didn't person capable infrastructure for the tourists," said Asano.

"So they request to put successful infrastructure. That's wherefore they [are] reasoning to summation these taxes, that taxation income makes much comfy oregon convenient for the tourists. I deliberation this inclination volition continue," Asano added.

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"In Japan oregon particularly successful Kyoto, determination is simply a large statement for overtourism. So, to marque a solution for overtourism, possibly taxation could beryllium [the] option," said Noguchi. 

Japan is known for its blistery springs (onsens) and bathing facilities surrounded by inns, drafting tourists from astir the world. (iStock)

Noguchi said Americans would bask visiting Japan during spring.

"I urge visiting Japan successful outpouring due to the fact that determination [are] precise beauteous cherry blossoms increasing successful Japan … determination [were] cherry blossoms talented from Tokyo to Washington, D.C., successful 1912. So American radical volition bask the genuine cherry blossoms successful Japan," said Noguchi.

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Asano said accepted civilization involving Buddhist and Shinto religions is attracting galore tourists.

Characters similar Hello Kitty, which is fashionable successful modern Japanese culture, are besides drafting travelers to the country, Asano added.