Column Finance and the Social Security System 2019.02.01
【Aging, safety net and fiscal crisis in Japan】No.154: Increasing consumption of foreign tourists contributes to economic growth
In January 2019, the Japan Tourism Agency released a report stating that the consumption of foreign tourists was JPY 4,506 billion in 2018. As shown in Figure 1, the consumption grew 5.5 times over the 7 years from 2011 to 2018. Since the nominal GDP in 2017 was JPY 545,122 billion, it can be said that the consumption of foreign tourists has become one of the factors supporting the growth of the Japanese economy.
Figure 2 shows the breakdown of the consumption by country. China is ranked first, accounting for 34.1% of the total. It is followed by Korea (13.0%), Taiwan (13.0%), Hong Kong (7.4%), the US (6.4%), and Thailand (3.1%).
Figure 1: Consumption of foreign tourists
Source: Japan Tourism Agency
Figure 2: Breakdown of foreign tourist consumption by country
Source: Japan Tourism Agency