Japanese tourist arrivals in Taiwan expected to rise by 300,000 in 2025

Yonago, Japan, May 30 (CNA) Taiwan's Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said Thursday in Japan that he expected at least 300,000 more Japanese to visit Taiwan in 2025 than did last year, a somewhat optimistic forecast given early visitor numbers.

Ahead of a tourism summit forum in Tottori Prefecture, Chou expressed optimism about the potential increase in Japanese tourist arrivals in Taiwan compared to 2024.

Chou's goal will be hard to achieve, however.

A total of 1,319,892 Japanese nationals visited Taiwan in 2024, according to Tourism Administration data, up 42.2 percent from a year earlier when travel in Asia was still limited by COVID-19.

An additional 300,000 arrivals in 2025 would represent a 22.7 percent increase, well above the 6.6 percent increase in Japanese arrivals in the first two months of 2025, according to the most recent Tourism Administration data.

And even Chou acknowledged that outbound Japanese tourism remained sluggish.

He noted that the number of Japanese traveling overseas has recovered to only about 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels, and he said that even reaching 80-90 percent of pre-pandemic levels will take time due to the Japanese yen's weakness.

Addressing future tourism development, Chou announced during the 2025 Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum a budget of NT$10 billion (US$334.94 million) to promote the industry in southern Taiwan by 2030, a plan still under review by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

Meanwhile, Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏), chairwoman of the Taiwan Visitors Association, emphasized the importance of enhancing Taiwan's appeal to international visitors and the need to focus on quality experiences rather than purely numerical targets.

Both Chou and Chien attended the annual forum being held in Yonago City from Thursday to Saturday by traveling on Tigerair Taiwan's inaugural flight to Yonago in Tottori Prefecture on Thursday.

Tigerair Taiwan has designated Yonago as its 22nd destination, and will offer flights to and from there every Monday and Friday.

The 2026 edition of the forum is set to be held in Miaoli County, northern Taiwan.