Japan, China, South Korea set 40 million tourist target

Tourism ministers from Japan, China and South Korea said Wednesday that they aim to increase the annual number of tourists among the three countries to 40 million, or 10 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic, by 2030.
The ministers included the target in a joint statement issued after a meeting in Kobe. They also agreed to work together in tackling overtourism.
It was the 10th meeting of the three countries’ tourism ministers and the first since 2019. Wednesday’s meeting brought together Japanese tourism minister Tetsuo Saito, Zhang Zheng, Chinese vice minister of culture and tourism, and South Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Yu In-chon.
The joint statement called for sharing each country’s data on destinations and consumption in order to achieve the tourist target, while promoting travel to regional areas by working to increase direct flights from other countries.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a monthly high of some 3.29 million in July, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Of the total, about half were from China and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the number of Japanese citizens traveling abroad is around just 60% of prepandemic levels.
The next three-way tourism ministers’ meeting is set to be held in China in 2025.