Number of Koreans visiting Japan exceeds 3mn in H1 on weak yen

On the Sumida River, which crosses downtown Tokyo from north to south, colorful fireworks embroider the night sky on July 29. More than 1 million people flocked to the Sumida River fireworks, which was suspended due to Covid-19 and reopened four years later. [Photo by Yonhap]

The number of South Koreans that visited Japan exceeded 3 million in the first half of this year, more than three times the number of Japanese that visited Korea, amid the weak yen and growing popularity of tourist destinations in Tokyo and other areas in the neighboring country.

According to data released by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Japan National Tourism Organization on Monday, 3.13 million Koreans visited Japan in the first half of this year, 3.6 times the number of Japanese that visited Korea at 862,000.

The number of Koreans visiting Japan has recovered to 81 percent of the pre-Covid-19 level in the first half of 2019.

In contrast, the number of Japanese visitors to Korea was only 52.1 percent compared to 1.65 million in the first half of 2019.

Among the visitors to Japan, Koreans accounted for the largest 29.2 percent of all foreigners. Japanese also ranked first among visitors to Korea, but their share was lower at 19.5 percent.

The total number of foreign visitors to Japan reached 10.71 million in the first six months of this year, 2.4 times the number of foreign visitors to Korea at 4.43 million.

The trend shows that foreign tourists are more attracted to Japan than to Korea.

In the first half of the year, 1.77 million Taiwanese traveled to Japan, 4.4 times the number of Taiwanese traveling to Korea which was 402,000.

The number of Hong Kongers visiting Japan stood at 910,000, 5.4 times that of those visiting Korea (169,000), and the number of Americans traveling to Japan was 972,000, 1.9 times that of Americans visiting Korea (514,000).

More visitors from Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, and European countries including the U.K., France, and Germany also visited Japan than Korea.

The weak yen is attributed to the growing number of travelers.

The Korean won/yen exchange rate was over 1,000 won ($0.78) per 100 yen in the first quarter of last year but it recently hovered around 910 won. Earlier this month, it dropped below 900 won per 100 yen.

Unlike other countries that have struggled with inflation, Japan has seen prices remain stagnant for years.

Another factor is that Japan has various tourist destinations across the regions, including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Okinawa, which appeals to a diverse range of travelers.

In contrast, most foreign tourists visiting Korea tend to focus on Seoul, with only a few also visiting cities like Busan and Jeju Island.

Analysts suggest that Korea should strengthen the competitiveness of regional tourist destinations and enhance related content and marketing efforts in order to attract more inbound tourists.

“While Japan has secured differentiated locality by region, Korea lacks competitiveness in tourism infrastructure and content compared to Japan, except for Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island,” said Shim Won-sup, a professor of tourism management at Mokpo National University.

A travel industry official also noted that Japan has very good local airport infrastructure facilities, which makes regional tourism more convenient and more popular than Korea.