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International tourists made 24.04 million trips to Japan in 2016, 21.8% more than previous year, and their spending grew 7.8% to JPY 3.75 trillion (USD 33 billion), said the Japanese government on January 17. Chinese travelers spent an estimated JPY 1.48 trillion (USD 13.06 billion) in Japan last year, accounting for 39.4% of the country's total tourist revenues, according to Japan Times. By category, spending on shopping — the largest share at 38.1% of the total — fell 1.9% to JPY 1.43 trillion due to a decline in the purchase of luxury items and home appliances on the back of the sharp appreciation of the yen around summer and an economic slowdown in China. Spending on accommodations increased 13.0% to JPY 1.01 trillion, while spending on food and drink rose 18.0% to JPY 757.4 billion. Of the total visitors in 2016, Chinese accounted for the largest portion at 26.5%, totaling 6.37 million visitors, up 27.6% from the previous year, followed by 5.09 million from South Korea and 4.17 million from Taiwan. |
