押し寄せる訪日観光客、見込み薄の中国以外から　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　気ままなリライト８１

訪日消費コロナ前回復　全国の6割、29府県で - 日本経済新聞

With a nostalgic gaze towards the past prosperity in the Japanese domestic tourism sector, their efforts to regenerate the past festivities have been gradually gaining momentum, marking a hopeful recovery from the trials endured during the pandemic. The economic drought in China, once a primary source of tourism in Japan, has been pushing the Japanese tourism industry to explore unbeaten paths and adapt to diversification beyond traditional markets to captivate a wider range of international tourists.

The increase in credit card payment amounts for tourism-related purchases or services has rekindled a sense of nostalgia, with a glimpse into the return to the pre-pandemic days of reliable tourism revenue streams. Nationwide, in March 2023, the total payment amount bounced back to 80 % of the levels seen in the pre-pandemic period. Impressively, 60 % of Japan’s prefectures, totaling 29 prefectures exceeded the pre-pandemic levels, with rural regional prefectures, such as Kochi and Yamagata leading the charge. Metropolitan prefectures, such as Tokyo, Osaka acted as a brake on the total revenue growth, only achieving about an 80 % rebound from the pre-pandemic levels in Tokyo, and even less in Osaka, which only observed half of its pre-pandemic revenue.

International tourists’ shift towards diverse destinations has catalyzed the revamping in the marketing strategies employed by some rural prefectures. Yamagata Prefecture, for instance, has distinguished itself from other traditional tourist hotspots by emphasizing its distinctive and abundant cultural and natural treasures, while adopting digital technologies. Mounting rebranding campaigns on social media platforms, the prefectural tourism sector has focused on promoting authentic localized travel experiences. Key attractions like the Zao Hot Spring and an adjacent ski resort have been presented as compelling destinations to potential visitors from a wide range of countries. The effectiveness of those strategies was made apparent by an impressive surge in credit card payment volume in March 2023, with 4.3 times higher than that of March 2019, according to the analysis by Mitsui-Sumitomo Card.

The unquenchable wanderlust of international tourists from diverse nations has compensated for the phantom wallets of Chinese tourists, serving as a surprising counterbalance to the initial disappointment with China as a projected major source of tourist revenue. Countries in Asia, barring China enhanced the resilience in the Japanese tourism sector. Taiwanese tourists increased their spending via credit cards, with a 2.5-fold rise in March 2023, compared with the same period three years ago when the credit card payments accounted for a third of the total amount spent by international tourists in Japan. Over the past four years, tourists from Hong Kong turned into high spenders in Japan, with spending nine times higher in March 2023 than in March 2019, when their expenditure made up only 9% of the total. Many tourists from the US also loosened their purse strings in Kochi and Tokushima prefectures, registering a fourfold and a fourteenfold increase in credit card spending respectively, compared with their expenditure four years ago.

Japan's tourism sector has still clung to a yearning for a re-emerging torrent of Chinese tourists, echoing the story of the legendary faithful dog, Hachiko, famed for his patient, yet fruitless efforts to wait for his master. Despite the lifting of Zero-Covid sanction strictly imposed by China's authoritarian regime, the prevalent pessimistic economic outlook has been prompting local businesses and households to adopt a risk-averse approach, causing them to shy away from taking on additional loans to build a bridge to a rosier future. A swelling wave of defaulted housing loans has been transforming domestic financial institutions into the equivalent of walking zombies, triggered by the ongoing burst of the real estate investment bubble in many big cities including Shanghai. The trend towards supply chain decoupling from China has been casting a pronounced shadow over the financial health of the nation, plunging a significant portion of the population into poverty or debt, depriving the previously prosperous of their wanderlust, leaving a few wealthy individuals struggling to protect their personal wealth at the mercy of the whimsical party policies. This pessimistic picture was painted by a discouraging 85 % drop in Chinese tourist arrives in Japan in April 2023, compared with that in the same month in 2019, indicating a deep chasm yet to be bridged.