Japan Tourism Company experiences 87 per cent drop in guests in 2020 over pandemic

The Japanese tourism agency reported an 87.1 percent drop in overseas visitor numbers in 2020, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan expected around 40 million visitors last year. The numbers should be increased significantly by hosting the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

However, the games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which unsurprisingly had a significant impact on tourist numbers as a number of restrictions were put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The Japan Tourism Agency reported that 4.1 million foreign visitors came to Japan in 2020.

This is an 87.1 percent decrease from 2019 when 31.8 million people visited the country.

The majority of visitors came in January and February, with 2.6 million and 1 million a month, respectively.

The border measures introduced in February caused a sharp drop in visitor numbers, with a low of 1,663 visitors in May.

The Japan Tourism Agency announced that the numbers rose from July as measures were gradually introduced to resume international travel.

The majority of the relaxation of restrictions was for business purposes, study and, to a limited extent, family visits.

Japan’s borders are now closed to foreign visitors until the end of January amid concerns about new variants of COVID-19.

Japan’s borders are closed to foreign visitors until the end of January amid concerns about new variants of COVID-19 © Getty Images

The Japanese government had hoped to reach 40 million visitors by 2020, up from 60 million by 2030.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed to 2021 but are expected to take place in a simplified form.

Very few overseas travelers are expected to be allowed to attend the Games if they continue later this year.

A recent poll by Kyodo News found that around 80 percent of Japanese would like this year’s Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games to be canceled or postponed again.

The poll took place amid mounting concerns in Japan about the coronavirus, with a surge in cases leading Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to institute a state of emergency in several regions of the country, including Tokyo.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place from July 23 to August 8. The Paralympics will take place from August 24th to September 5th.