Jump in Thai tourists to Japan

Jump in Thai tourists to Japan

The streets of Tokyo remain calm as a replica of Godzilla's head is seen on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. (EPA photo)
The streets of Tokyo remain calm as a replica of Godzilla's head is seen on the 8th floor terrace of the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. (EPA photo)

TOKYO — The estimated number of monthly foreign passenger arrivals in Japan topped 1.5 million for the first time ever in March, with tourists from Thailand leapfrogging 30%, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said on Wednesday.

The rise in arrivals to 1,526,000, up 45.3% from a year earlier, was also attributed to the weaker yen and expansion of consumption-tax-free products for foreign tourists since October, it added.

The number of tourists from Thailand in March was 92,400, a 30% rise from the same period of last year.

China accounted for the largest share of the total at 338,200 people, up 83.7%, followed by Taiwan at 277,900, up 33.2%, and South Korea at 268,200, up 39.6%, according to the JNTO.

Japan is a popular destination for Thai tourists. About 181,200 visitors from Thailand went to Japan from January to March this year, up 36.6% from a year ago.

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