https://www.scmp.com/rss/522266/feed Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO): A governmental body headquartered in Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, JNTO is dedicated to promoting tourism to Japan and fostering international tourism exchanges. Established in 1964, its core activities include global tourism promotion, operating Tourist Information Centres, publishing tourism statistics, and supporting international conventions. With 26 overseas offices, JNTO plays a central role in developing inbound tourism, disseminating... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bloomberg Bloomberg The decline in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan accelerated in January, fuelling the first monthly drop since Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, offering the clearest sign yet of economic fallout from tensions between the countries. Arrivals from China shrank 61 per cent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 45 per cent decline in December, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said on Wednesday, citing a shift in the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday and warnings... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343901/chinese-tourist-arrivals-japan-plunge-41-january-amid-simmering-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3343901/chinese-tourist-arrivals-japan-plunge-41-january-amid-simmering-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:35:06 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall As Beijing urges its citizens to steer clear of Japan, Russian travellers are stepping into the gap – a shift that reflects how sanctions on Moscow, Japan’s cautious diplomatic balancing and a weak yen are redrawing the region’s tourism map. The Mainichi newspaper reported on Sunday that the Japanese embassy in Russia had opened two new visa application centres, in Moscow and St Petersburg, to cope with rising demand. Officials said there were 53,327 visa applications from across Russia in 2019,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343757/russia-emerges-unlikely-growth-market-japan-tourism-china-pulls-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3343757/russia-emerges-unlikely-growth-market-japan-tourism-china-pulls-back?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 03:00:18 +0000 Cao Jiaxuan Cao Jiaxuan The foreign ministry in Beijing has urged citizens to avoid travelling to Japan ahead of Lunar New Year as the row over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November comments about Taiwan rumbles on. A statement issued on Monday said: “With the Lunar New Year approaching, the foreign ministry and the Chinese embassy in Tokyo urge citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and advise those already there to stay alert to crime and disaster warnings. “In recent weeks, public security in Japan has... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341284/china-issues-new-japan-travel-warning-row-over-takaichis-taiwan-comments-rumbles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3341284/china-issues-new-japan-travel-warning-row-over-takaichis-taiwan-comments-rumbles?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 11:31:50 +0000 Nicholas Spiro Nicholas Spiro The post-pandemic recovery in Asia’s hotel industry is patchy. While international tourist arrivals in some countries surpassed 2019 levels some time ago, most markets have yet to experience a full return to pre-Covid levels. According to CBRE, only three of the 13 major markets in the Asia-Pacific region – Japan, Vietnam and South Korea – welcomed more overseas tourists in the first half of 2025 than in the corresponding period in 2019. All three have cheap currencies that made them more... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3341211/how-thailand-india-and-japan-illustrate-asias-patchy-recovery-hospitality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3341211/how-thailand-india-and-japan-illustrate-asias-patchy-recovery-hospitality?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Jan 2026 08:30:10 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen Flight cancellations continue to disrupt travel between China and Japan heading into the holiday season amid deepening tensions between the two neighbours. Flights across 46 routes, including to popular tourism destinations, have been cancelled over the next two weeks, according to Flight Manager, an app developed by Shenzhen-based Huo Li Tian Hui Technology. A total of 38 airports across the two countries will be affected, the app shows. The widespread cancellations overlap with the New Year... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337360/holiday-travellers-hit-amid-china-japan-tension-flights-cancelled-46-routes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337360/holiday-travellers-hit-amid-china-japan-tension-flights-cancelled-46-routes?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Dec 2025 10:41:15 +0000 Dannie Peng Dannie Peng The growth rate of Chinese tourists to Japan significantly slowed in November, according to official data released by Tokyo, as Beijing cut flights and issued travel warnings amid rising tensions with Japan over Taiwan. According to the latest report released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Wednesday, although Chinese tourists continued to visit Japan in November and the numbers kept growing, it was at a much slower pace than before, both year on year and month on month. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336834/chinese-tourist-arrivals-japan-lose-momentum-amid-simmering-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336834/chinese-tourist-arrivals-japan-lose-momentum-amid-simmering-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 19:08:48 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall The crush of foreign visitors in Kyoto has become so overwhelming that some Japanese schools are abandoning the ancient capital as a destination for their class trips – a quiet but telling sign of how overtourism is reshaping life for local residents. Teachers complain their pupils now face packed buses and subways, crowds at temples and shrines, and hotel and restaurant prices that have doubled or even tripled. The result, according to school trip organisers, is disappointment for students and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3326677/japans-schools-ditch-kyoto-class-trips-overtourism-bites-its-too-expensive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3326677/japans-schools-ditch-kyoto-class-trips-overtourism-bites-its-too-expensive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Sep 2025 00:00:10 +0000 Ralph Jennings Ralph Jennings When Ding Xiaohan, a software engineer from Shanghai, took her 18-year-old son to Japan for a weeklong holiday this summer, she did not hold back. The 47-year-old spent freely as they explored the affluent neighbourhood near the Tokyo Tower and the tea-producing city of Shizuoka, splashing out on sushi lunches, barbecue dinners and dolls modelled on iconic Studio Ghibli anime characters. “Japanese food and merchandise are different, higher quality – like if you buy clothing it’s more... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3326162/chinese-tourists-splash-cash-japan-weak-yen-drives-travel-surge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3326162/chinese-tourists-splash-cash-japan-weak-yen-drives-travel-surge?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 00:00:14 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk On a bustling evening in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, a handful of coins left behind by an American tourist creates confusion at a popular izakaya. In a nation where omotenashi – selfless hospitality – is a point of pride, the growing custom of tipping as millions of foreign visitors pour into the country is catching Japan off guard. “It’s not common to tip for services such as those provided in bars, cafés, restaurants, taxis and hotels,” the Japanese National Tourism Organisation reminds... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3324196/foreign-tradition-tipping-upends-japans-tradition-gracious-service?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3324196/foreign-tradition-tipping-upends-japans-tradition-gracious-service?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:32:01 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Hongkongers’ enthusiasm for travelling to Japan is expected to remain robust even as more municipalities in the country plan to impose lodging taxes to ease overtourism, according to industry leaders. Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, executive director of EGL Tours, which specialises in package tours to Japan, also said on Sunday that the additional tax was unlikely to push up the prices of tours to the country. According to a Kyodo news agency report, 42 municipalities have already either imposed or plan... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3322988/hongkongers-undeterred-japans-plan-tackle-overtourism-through-taxes-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3322988/hongkongers-undeterred-japans-plan-tackle-overtourism-through-taxes-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Aug 2025 14:12:31 +0000 Leopold Chen Leopold Chen Hong Kong travel agencies have not recorded widespread cancellations of Japan-bound tour groups for the coming weekend, despite a manga artist’s widely discussed prediction that a mega-earthquake will hit the country on Saturday. But some business insiders suggested the number of tours this summer was expected to fall by half compared with last year. The Japan National Tourism Organisation reported that only 193,100 visitors from Hong Kong were recorded coming to the country in May, down by 11.2... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3316710/hong-kong-tourists-undeterred-manga-prediction-quake-will-hit-japan-july-5?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3316710/hong-kong-tourists-undeterred-manga-prediction-quake-will-hit-japan-july-5?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jul 2025 03:37:54 +0000