Japan was the fastest growing overseas destination for Australian travellers in 2018, recording a 17 percent increase on 2017.
According to the figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 460,700 Australians travelled to Japan last year, outstripping destinations such as India, Singapore and Fiji. Japan became the seventh most popular international destination for Australians, cementing more than 10 years of impressive visitor growth.
“Interest in Japan from Australian travellers has been growing for some time, but we have noticed a significant increase in recent years,” said Kana Wakabayashi, JNTO Sydney Office Executive Director. “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. Being named as the fastest growing destination and the seventh most visited country is further confirmation of Japan’s broad appeal to Australian travellers.”
The ABS figures also showed that between 2008 and 2018, Australian visitor numbers to Japan have grown significantly by 213 percent, second only to Indonesia.
“The long-term trend has been underpinned by growth in Japan’s tourism infrastructure, which is now truly world-class, and 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,” explained Wakabayashi.
