https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1598602/thai-travellers-to-japan-top-1-million
Thai travellers to Japan top 1 million
The number of Thai travellers to Japan has topped 1 million this year, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to reach that threshold amid Tokyo's efforts to attract overseas visitors through the relaxation of visa requirements.
The number of Thai visitors during the first 11 months period was estimated at 1,003,800, up 15.2% from a year before, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of friendship and cooperation between Japan and the region in 2013, the Japanese government aimed to leverage the number of visitors from Southeast Asia through the visa deregulation as part of its strategy to stimulate tourism.
Given fast economic growth in the region, travellers to Japan from six Southeast Asian nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- surged nearly six-fold from 2011 through 2017.
The combined number of travellers from the six countries this year is likely to reach 3 million, driven by rapid growth in the number of visitors from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the data released on Wednesday.
The increase in Southeast Asian travellers to Japan is attributed to the rising number of budget flights, Saki Komatsubara, a JNTO statistics official, said.
The number of flights linking Japan to Southeast Asia jumped to 791 per week in the summer of 2018 from 69 a year earlier, with Thai Airways International and Thai Air Asia X increasing their flights to Narita airport, east of Tokyo, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
From 2011 to 2018, low-cost carriers' flights to Japan soared nearly 20-fold to 1,357 per week, with the vast majority coming from Asia, the ministry said. Of total passenger flights, no-frills flights accounted for 27.1% of the total.
Japan has already seen over 30 million foreign visitors this year, with China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan accounting for 70% of the total. Travellers from Southeast Asia make up about 10%.
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Thai travellers to Japan top 1 million
The number of Thai travellers to Japan has topped 1 million this year, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to reach that threshold amid Tokyo's efforts to attract overseas visitors through the relaxation of visa requirements.
The number of Thai visitors during the first 11 months period was estimated at 1,003,800, up 15.2% from a year before, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of friendship and cooperation between Japan and the region in 2013, the Japanese government aimed to leverage the number of visitors from Southeast Asia through the visa deregulation as part of its strategy to stimulate tourism.
Given fast economic growth in the region, travellers to Japan from six Southeast Asian nations -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- surged nearly six-fold from 2011 through 2017.
The combined number of travellers from the six countries this year is likely to reach 3 million, driven by rapid growth in the number of visitors from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to the data released on Wednesday.
The increase in Southeast Asian travellers to Japan is attributed to the rising number of budget flights, Saki Komatsubara, a JNTO statistics official, said.
The number of flights linking Japan to Southeast Asia jumped to 791 per week in the summer of 2018 from 69 a year earlier, with Thai Airways International and Thai Air Asia X increasing their flights to Narita airport, east of Tokyo, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
From 2011 to 2018, low-cost carriers' flights to Japan soared nearly 20-fold to 1,357 per week, with the vast majority coming from Asia, the ministry said. Of total passenger flights, no-frills flights accounted for 27.1% of the total.
Japan has already seen over 30 million foreign visitors this year, with China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan accounting for 70% of the total. Travellers from Southeast Asia make up about 10%.