PH visitors to Japan up 20%

CEBU -- More Filipinos are expected to visit Japan this year, as its capital city Tokyo opens refreshing and new attractions leading up to its hosting of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Maiko Iwaki, tourism promotion manager of the Tokyo Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Japan saw a 20 percent increase in Filipino arrivals year-on-year since 2012, progress that is “too difficult to ignore” in the Southeast Asian market.

Iwaki said some 424,200 Filipinos have visited Japan in 2017.

“We are paying attention to the Philippines because it is growing at 20 percent. We see big potential in the Philippines as far as tourism exchanges is concerned,” she said.

Of the total number of Filipinos who went to Japan last year, about 93 percent were booked as free independent travelers (FITs) while the remaining seven percent were group bookings.

About 66 percent of Filipinos stayed in Tokyo, 59 percent in Chiba, 48 percent in Osaka, 27 percent in Kyoto and 10 percent explored Nara.

By 2020, Japan aims to welcome 40 million visitors as it hosts the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Tokyo, on the other hand, aims to achieve 25 million arrivals.

According to the 2016 Household Survey on Domestic Visitors released by the Department of Tourism, China, including Hong Kong, was the top country visited among Filipino outbound travelers followed by Malaysia, Japan, United States and Singapore from April to September 2016.

Iwaki said Tokyo, never runs out of new things to offer its guests, the reason many Filipinos visit the city repeatedly each year.

“Various projects are underway until 2020,” said Iwaki.