Japan’s Inbound luxury-travel market Sees Significant Growth in Both Spending and Visitors

— Japan’s Inbound luxury-travel market surpassed global growth in 2023—

 As part of its efforts to expand inbound travel spending and promote regional tourism, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has conducted a survey to estimate the market size of luxury-travel (defined as consumption of 1 million yen or more per capita at destinations).

The survey, which covers travelers from the selected markets to Japan in 2023, shows a significant increase in both spending and the number of travelers compared to the 2019 data. Notably, the growth rate in inbound (to Japan) luxury-travel market has surpassed that of the global outbound luxury-travel market.

 Based on the results of this survey, JNTO will enhance its promotional efforts -- such as engaging in negotiations with overseas travel agencies specializing in luxury-travel and conducting familiarization trips in Japan -- in order to further advance sustainable tourism, increase spending, and promote regional destinations, in line with the goals set forth in the "Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan."

Survey Overview:

● Subjects: Luxury-Travel in 2023 (defined as consumption of 1 million yen or more per capita at destinations)

● Markets: Markets with significant luxury-travel segments were selected from the previous 2019 survey, with regional balance considered. The market size for each selected market, as well as the overall market,^*1 was estimated.

Global luxury-travel: Five markets (China, the US, the Middle East^*2, Singapore, and the UK)

● Japan’s Inbound luxury-travel: Ten markets (the five markets above plus Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand)

● Method: Estimations based on credit card payment data and other sources

● Item: Consumption and number of travelers in both the global luxury-travel market and the Japan’s inbound luxury-travel market.

*1 "All Markets" refers to the 24 markets covered in the previous 2019 survey (see Appendix P2). Other markets’ size was estimated using average growth rates.

*2 GCC6 countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait)  

 Key Survey Findings

(Consumption)

● Japan's inbound luxury-travel market was approximately 1.0 trillion yen in 2023, marking a 50.6% increase compared to 2019. Meanwhile, the global luxury-travel market was approximately 21 trillion yen in the same year, reflecting a 17.6% increase compared to 2019, with Japan's growth surpassing that of the global market.

● In 2023, spending by international travelers to Japan^*3 was 5.3 trillion yen, an increase of 10.2% compared to 2019, with the luxury-travel market showing a particularly significant growth rate.

● Additionally, the proportion of luxury-travel spending in total spending by international travelers to Japan increased by 5.1 points from 14.0% in 2019 to 19.1% in 2023.

 (Number of Luxury Travelers)

● The number of travelers in Japan’s inbound luxury-travel market in 2023 was 590,000, an 83.2% increase compared to 2019. The number of travelers in the global luxury-travel market in the same year was 11.57 million, reflecting a 32.5% increase, with Japan's growth again surpassing that of the global market.

● The number of international travelers visiting Japan in 2023^*4 was 25.07 million, a decrease of

21.4% compared to 2019, highlighting the outstanding growth in the luxury-travel market within the inbound tourism sector.

● The proportion of luxury travelers among all international travelers to Japan increased by 1.4 points, from 1.0% in 2019 to 2.4% in 2023.

(Ranking of Japan’s Inbound luxury-travel by Market)

● In 2023, the top three markets by spending of international luxury-travel to Japan were China (23%), the US (16.3%), and Taiwan (13.1%). The top three markets by number of luxury-travelers were China (24.6%), the US (16.5%), and Taiwan (12.7%).

For further details, please refer to the attached "Summary of Luxury-Travel Market Size Survey."

*3 Tourism Agency Inbound Foreign Visitor Spending Trends Survey (2023)

*4 JNTO Inbound Foreign Visitor Statistics (2023)