Inbound Consumption in Japan is Strong – Amount of Credit Card Payments by Foreign Visitors to Japan Increases

Sumitomo Mitsui Card has released a report on credit card spending trends by foreigners visiting Japan.

According to the report, the amount of credit card payments by foreigners visiting Japan from January to November 2024 increased significantly, up 50.4% from the same period in 2019 before the Covid-19 Disaster and up 55.3% from the same period last year.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the growth rate of the number of foreign visitors to Japan during the year 2024 was 15.6% over 2019 and 47.1% over the previous year, but the amount of credit card payments increased more than those numbers of visitors to Japan.

In terms of payment value composition by country, China accounted for about 60% of total payment value in 2019, but after 2023 it was about 20%, while the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and other countries increased their presence. The U.S. grew significantly in value scale in 2023 compared to 2019, overtaking China to become No. 1 in terms of payment value. The popularity of Japan as an overseas travel destination and the ease of travel to Japan due to currency effects are believed to be the reasons for this growth.

With the percentage of non-Chinese tourists increasing and the amount of payments increasing compared to 2019, it is predicted that demand for services and products to cater to an even more diverse range of nationalities visiting Japan will increase.

In addition, the amount of payments by Chinese tourists, who spend more on goods, has recovered moderately from 2023 onward, so future trends cannot be ignored.

(source) https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ee1a5c8a8b29719084a238f56b3ff01b652c99da