Tokyo Saw 4.7 Million Foreign Visitors in 2009, Down 10.8%, with Their Travel Consumption Down 15.9%
“Survey 2009 on Tourists Visiting Tokyo” released from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported that foreign visitors to Tokyo in 2009 numbered 4,760,000, down 10.8 percent from the previous year. Their travel consumption fell 15.9 percent to 281.6 billion yen year on year, with per capita spending (of those staying overnight) registering 98,979 yen, down by 10,768 yen. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government assumes that the global financial crisis since late 2008, persistent yen appreciation, and the breakout of new strain of flu pushed down the figures significantly. Foreign visitors comprise only 1.1 percent of all tourists to Tokyo, but it should be noted that their travel spending constitutes 7 percent of the total.
On the other hand, Japanese visitors to Tokyo were 416 million, down 2.2 percent, of which residents outside Tokyo were 183 million, down 10.1 percent, while Tokyo residents who had made a day trip were 230 million, up 5.2 percent, bringing the total number of Japanese visitors to the almost equal level a year ago. As far as travel consumption is concerned, total spending of Tokyo residents slid 4.2 percent to 1.64 trillion yen, while that of non-Tokyo residents dropped 16.2 percent to 2.03 trillion yen. Economic ripple effect stemmed from Japanese and non-Japanese visitors is estimated to have declined 11.5 percent to 8.7 trillion yen, and employment effect to have fallen 23.3 percent to 430,000 people. The economic ripple effect generated by tourism is said to account for 5.2 percent of the Tokyo’s production output.
Meanwhile, the part of town in Tokyo that is most pleasing to foreign visitors was Shinjuku (support rate: 18.6%), followed by Ginza (7.6%) and Asakusa (7.1%). Visitors from Asia were more attracted by Ginza and Odaiba, while visitors from Europe, North America, and Australia took a fancy to Shibuya.
Source: Travel Vision
Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.
In anticipation of the opening of the new International Terminal at Haneda Airport and the start of international scheduled flights operations from Haneda Airport, All NIppon Airways has reaffirmed its commitment in delivering high-quality service. As previously announced, ANA will launch new routes that connect Haneda to Los Angeles, Honolulu, Singapore, Bangkok, and Taipei (Songshan) as well as Beijing, Shanghai (Hongqiao), Hong Kong, and Seoul (Gimpo), which it currently operate. ANA’s new network and services from Haneda Airport will provide easy access from central Tokyo and offer convenient connections to and from multiple cities of Japan using ANA’s domestic network. At the same time, ANA’s domestic services will also give greater convenience to passengers as Terminal 2-ANA’s domestic terminal at Haneda Airport-will double its current size, adding new airport lounges and security checkpoints.
The new International Terminal at Haneda Airport will open on Thursday, October 21 this year. Access to the terminal from central Tokyo is very convenient, using either rail services operated by Tokyo Monorail and Keihin Kyuko Railways to the New Terminal station, or by car, as the new terminal will feature a large car park. With the opening, ANA will shift its international operation from the current terminal, and introduce new services and facilities such as new lounges and a larger number of self-service check-in kiosks, for an easier travel to international destinations.
From October 31 ANA will inaugurate five new international routes connecting Haneda Airport with Los Angeles, Honolulu, Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei (Songshan), in addition to shifting its current charter services to regular scheduled services. ANA will change the departure time for its current late-night Hong Kong flight to a more convenient daytime service and will increase the frequency of its Haneda-Seoul (Gimpo) service from double-daily to triple-daily. With these new and improved services at Haneda Airport, ANA is aspired to expand its global network substantially. 
The Association of National Tourist Office Representatives in Japan (ANTOR-Japan) held on July 24 the fifth consumer-focused “Let’s go kaigai!” campaign at Tokyo Midtown. It collected 15,000 visitors, surpassing 10,000 of last year as the event took place after the school summer vacation began this year. The visitors consisted of all ages, from families with children and young people to seniors.
Various functions were given at the site, such as stamp rally (stamp collection game) in which people who collected 12 stamps from different booths get a small prize; and seven rounds of lottery were conducted for those who collected stamps at Canopy Square on the ground floor. Seventy-five winners of lottery were awarded with such prizes as free plane tickets, hotel coupons, rail passes, and a package of candies, all donated by the exhibitors. It is said almost all of 6,000 sheets for stamp collection were gone for distribution.
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