Tourism direct GDP (2023) | Tourism direct employment (2023) | Travel exports (2024) |
|---|---|---|
1.9% of total GDP (up 0.7 percentage point since 2022) | 9.1% of total employment (up 0.2 percentage points since 2022) | 24% of total service exports (up 5.5 percentage points since 2023) |
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026
National tourism strategy: Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan
National tourism administration: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
National tourism budget: JPY 53 billion (2025)
Key tourism policy priorities and actions:
Balancing inbound tourism with local residents – Addressing localised and regional issues such as congestion and inappropriate tourist behaviour.
Promoting domestic and outbound tourism – Stimulating demand for domestic and outbound travel.
Building resilient tourism destinations and tourism sector – Improving productivity through digital transformation and investments in labour efficiencies.
Tourism remains a key pillar of Japan’s growth strategy and is an important driver of regional development. In 2023, tourism accounted for 1.9% of GDP and contributed 6.3 million jobs or 9.1% of total employment. This is slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels, when tourism accounted for 2.0% of GDP and 9.7% of employment (in 2019). In 2024, travel exports represented 24% of total service exports, up from 18.5% in 2023, and above the pre-pandemic level of 22% in 2019.
International tourist arrivals reached record levels in 2025, reaching almost 42.7 million, an increase of 16% compared to 2024. The top three source countries were Korea (22%), People’s Republic of China (21%) and Chinese Taipei (16%).
The domestic market remains an important driver of Japanese tourism. In 2024, a total of 293.1 million domestic overnight visitors were recorded, an increase of 4.2% compared to 2023. In the same period, same day domestic trips increased by 14.1% to 246.8 million.
Established as an external bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency takes a leading role in tourism policy, tourism development and promotion of Jap tourist destination. The Agency is also responsible for co-ordinating efforts between public and private tourism stakeholders and the development of tourism destinations.
A Ministerial Council for the Promotion of Japan as a Tourism Nation was established in 2013 to unify government efforts on tourism. The Council is presided by the Prime Minister and attended by all Cabinet ministers.
The Japan National Tourism Organisation is under the jurisdiction of the Japan Tourism Agency and acts as the official tourism bureau for the country. It promotes Japan as a tourism destination abroad, provides information to foreign tourists and conducts actions to encourage visits to Japan.
In addition, the nine District Transport Bureau, which are local branches of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, conduct tourism-related operations in co-operation with local governments and private stakeholders to promote tourism throughout their areas of jurisdiction. Tourism departments in each District Transport Bureau focus on developing tourist-friendly environments and creating regional circuits for tourists. Additionally, and together with the Japan Tourism Agency, they offer consultation services to local stakeholders on tourism initiatives for regional revitalisation.
The budget for the 2005 fiscal year was JPY 53.0 billion. This included JPY 5.4 billion to develop sustainable tourism destinations, JPY 46.4 billion for strategic initiatives to attract inbound tourists, with a focus on travel to regional areas, and JPY 0.4 billion to promote domestic tourism.
Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 2026.
The 5th Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan, approved in March 2026, guides Japan’s tourism. Under this plan, tourism is positioned as an important and strategic sector that drives both regional and national development. The five-year Plan is structured around three key pillars:
Balancing inbound tourism with local residents. This includes addressing localised and regional issues such as congestion and inappropriate tourist behaviour.
Promoting domestic and outbound tourism. This includes stimulating demand for domestic and outbound travel.
Building resilient tourism destinations and tourism sector. This includes improving productivity through digital transformation and investments in labour efficiencies.
The Plan aims to develop sustainable tourism, increase consumer spending, promote tourism to regional areas, strengthen transportation networks and urban development through tourism, and support the use of new technologies. The Government will promote measures to enhance satisfaction among local residents and tourists, to support a tourism sector that is “good to work in” and become a destination that is “good to live in” and “good to visit.”
As international tourist arrivals recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has found a need to better disperse visitors beyond the three major cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, which account for approximately 60% of international tourist accommodation, not including short-term rentals.
An excessive concentration of tourists and instances of inappropriate behaviour at certain locations and during specific time periods are posing ongoing challenges to the daily lives of local residents. To address these emerging issues, it is necessary for each region, while incorporating the views of local communities, to implement continuous and systematic measures to ensure and maintain the quality of residents’ lives. Accordingly, the following measures will be undertaken:
Addressing localised and regional issues such as congestion and inappropriate tourist behaviour.
Establishing a wide-area framework to promote travel to regional and local destinations.
Enhancing tourism content that is highly effective in attracting visitors to regional areas and expanding consumption.
Strengthening the functionality of transportation networks serving regional areas.
To encourage international tourists to visit regional areas, Japan has implemented a regional tourism promotion project. This project draws on the experience of DMOs to provide comprehensive support to regions, including research, strategy planning, enrichment of visitor experiences, improving the environment for welcoming tourists, better distributing products, and promotion. To improve the attractiveness of regions and promote sustainable tourism to regional areas, Japan is providing support to develop profitable, unique, and innovative tourism products and services that utilise untapped regional resources through subsidies and capacity building. Support will also be provided to DMOs, tourism associations, local governments, and private companies to create economically sustainable business models that will be continued over the medium to long term.
The domestic travel market has maintained its expanded state after COVID-19. Therefore, it is a priority for Japan to create new exchanges and tourism resources for domestic visitors. The ‘Second Hometown’ initiative is designed to create recurrent and continuous visits through ‘Connected Minds’. Launched in 2022, the programme aims to create a new style of travel, with connections to the regional community and participation in regional management. In the 2025 fiscal year, the government worked with 16 regions to create exemplary cases which enabled sustainable business continuity, considering the economic effects on the regions. Further work is being considered to expand this to a ‘Community Exchange Programme’ for companies to develop deeper ties with and take interest in tackling regional challenges. Beyond domestic tourism, Japan is also encouraging Japanese people to travel outbound as a way to construct stable international relations and improve international awareness and mutual understanding.
Creating more sustainable destinations requires actions on both the supply and demand sides of the tourism sector. Labour shortages are a significant structural challenge for the tourism sector, particularly in accommodation establishments. Japan is seeking opportunities to utilise international labour and improve education and management opportunities to address shortages, including through:
Diversifying the inbound market and tourism offerings to enhance sustainability of the industry.
Improving productivity through digital transformation and investments in labour-efficiency measures.
Fostering healthy market competition.
Ensuring inclusive, diverse and accessible tourism experiences.
Securing skilled personnel for tourist destinations and the tourism industry.
The Japan Tourism Agency formulated a "policy package for a full-scale recovery of outbound tourism" in March 2023. It is working with the public and private sectors to foster momentum for overseas travel, with the aim to exceed the 2019 level of 20.1 million outbound trips. The number of Japanese people going abroad in 2025 reached 14.7 million, an increase of 13.3% from 2024.
It is believed that promoting outbound travel by Japanese people will help construct stable international relations by improving international awareness and increasing mutual understanding. It will also help maintain and strengthen the aviation network, which can further expand inbound tourism, making it important to proceed in tandem with the promotion of inbound tourism.
The Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Japan Association of Travel Agents have jointly issued a declaration stating that the public and private sectors work together to further encourage outbound travel. A new Japan passport was introduced in 2025, with streamlined procedures, including online applications, and significantly strengthened measures to prevent counterfeiting and alteration. To enable travellers to travel overseas safely, the government will provide local safety information to tourists through an overseas safety information service. Travel agencies are running new campaigns, such as providing support for the cost of obtaining a passport.
To promote international exchange among young people, Japan has been working to promote overseas educational trips since the fiscal year 2020, with high-added-value overseas educational trip programmes being developed in collaboration with travel agencies and schools since the fiscal year 2023. An "overseas educational trip symposium" was held in March 2026 for school officials and travel agencies to promote these trips, highlighting the trip programmes developed in the 2025 fiscal year.