It’s official, Australian travellers are loving Japan more than ever before with new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealing Japan was the fastest growing overseas destination for Aussies last year.
The country recorded a 17% increase in 2017, seeing it quickly rise to become the seventh most popular international destination for Aussies.
The data showed 460,700 Australians travelled to Japan last year, outstripping destinations such as India, Singapore and Fiji.
“Interest in Japan from Australian travellers has been growing for some time, but we have noticed a significant increase in recent years,” Kana Wakabayashi, JNTO Sydney Office Executive Director said.
“This most recent data from the ABS supports our own findings, which showed that 2018 was a landmark year for Australians visiting Japan – they arrived in record numbers, stayed longer than almost any other nationality, plus recorded the highest spending of all international visitors. “
Kana Wakabayashi, JNTO Sydney Office Executive Director
“Being named as the fastest growing destination and the seventh most visited country is further confirmation of Japan’s broad appeal to Australian travellers,” Kana went on to say.
Image: Jonathan Forage/Unsplash
The figures also showed that between 2008 and 2018, Australian visitor numbers to Japan have grown by an OUTSTANDING 213%m second only to Indonesia.
Kana said the long-term trend was underpinned by growth in Japan’s tourism infrastructure, which is “now truly world-class” as well as a general increase in links between Australia and Japan.
The more recent acceleration in Australian visitors numbers has been driven by new flights and increased airline capacity, favourable exchange rate conditions and an increasing recognition of the varied attractions on offer to tourists in Japan.
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