Vietnam leads in Southeast Asian tourist number to Japan

Vietnam leaded Southeast Asian countries in the number of tourists visiting Japan over the last decade with a growth rate of 868.1 percent, according to the Nikkei website.

The country was followed by Thailand and Indonesia, with the respective growth rates of 489.3 percent and 448.7 percent.

Last year, about 28.6 million foreign holiday-makers visited Japan, up 19.3 percent year on year.

China was the No.1 source of visitors to Japan in the year, accounting for 7.35 million or 25.6 percent of the total. The Republic of Korea was close behind at 7.14 million or 24.8 percent.

In 2007, only 942.439 Chinese tourists came to Japan. But the figure soared by 680.5 percent in the period 2007-2017.

International visitors to Japan spent a record 4.41 trillion yen (39.87 billion USD in 2017, the site said.

The most attractive destinations for foreign visitors are tourism sites in Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and Kyoto cities.

Easier traffic and direct airline routes connecting many Asian countries with Japan have also contributed to attracting tourist to Japan.

The Japanese government aims to increase the number of annual tourist arrivals to 40 million by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics.

VNA