Vietnam, Indonesia help drive tourism recovery in Japan

February visitors reach 57% of pre-COVID level in boon for restaurants, stores

20230315N inbound tourists

Crowds form at the Fukuoka Airport in western Japan on Feb. 4. Inbound travel is expected to pick up further after Japan lifted entry curbs for arrivals from China. © Kyodo

SHOHEI KONO, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Japan received 1.47 million international visitors in February, according to preliminary data published Wednesday by the Japan National Tourism Organization, encouraging numbers that are largely due to an influx of tourists from Southeast Asian countries.

The figure fell by 22,000 from January, but that was to be expected as February is a shorter month and considered offseason. But the total still amounted to 57% of visitors in the same month in 2019, before the spread of COVID-19 -- a slight increase from 56% in January.

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