Tourism and Hospitality

The tourism sector, with its rapidly increasing number of foreign visitors to Japan and record-high inbound consumption of 35.05 billion USD* (5.3 trillion JPY) *, is expected to expand its business opportunities further with the promotion of digitalization and regional tourism.

Overview

Japan’s Tourism Market Strengthens with the Increase in Inbound Consumption

The tourism industry, one of the key industries driving the Japanese economy, is growing rapidly as the number of foreign visitors and inbound consumption increases. While its abundant tourism resources are attracting worldwide attention, labor shortages are an issue, and thus foreign companies are expected to enter the industry.

Government Initiatives

Promotion of Digitalization, Sustainable Tourism, and Regional Tourism to Boost Inbound Tourism and Further Develop the Tourism Industry

The government is supporting the tourism industry by attracting tourists to regional areas to revitalize regional economies and improve productivity through the introduction of tourism digital transformation (DX). The three government initiatives are introduced below:

(1)

Government initiatives to boost inbound tourism
(2)

Sustainable tourism and attracting tourists to regional areas
(3)

Value-added businesses for tourist destinations and tourism industry through tourism digital transformation and ICT

Attractive Markets

In this report, we focus on the following three attractive markets in the tourism industry with large market sizes and high growth rates.

(1)

Travel Tech: Gaining Attention Due to the Promotion of Digital Transformation and Regional Tourism
(2)

Financial Services: Growing Demand Mainly for Cashless Payment Services for Foreign Visitors to Japan
(3)

Hotel Market: Successive expansion of overseas companies, mainly luxury hotels