Why travel demand to China is low, but interest in Japan is high

Japan tops many lists of best travel destinations and is heading in the right direction to welcome record-breaking numbers of travelers in 2024.

But China is facing a distinct reality: the return of international visitors can be much slower.

Both countries lifted Covid-related border restrictions relatively late – Japan in October 2022 and China in January 2023 – but their post-pandemic recoveries have since followed different paths.

According to the country's national immigration authority, demand for travel to China is increasing. It announced that the variety of foreign visitors increased by 130 percent between January and July in comparison with the previous 12 months.

Summer travel can be on the rise, with domestic travel bookings doubling since last summer, a representative of travel website Trip.com told CNBC Travel.

However, arrivals are still well below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, China welcomed around 49.1 million travelers – in July this 12 months around 17.25 million foreigners got herein keeping with Chinese state media.

Japan can be having a tough time – albeit under the burden of its own popularity.

Since March, greater than 3 million international travelers have visited the country every month – significantly greater than in 2019.

Beyond the cultural fascination with Japan, the country's current It status can be partly the results of initiatives by the Japanese government, says Joydeep Chakraborty, head of strategy and investment at Southeast Asian travel app Traveloka.

“The government has long focused on making Japan a top travel destination through tourism-friendly measures, such as improving the travel experience and simplifying the travel process for international visitors,” he said.

These efforts have been accelerated by the devaluation of the yen, he said.

“The USD/JPY exchange rate [moved] from about 140 in January 2024 to over 160 by July 2024, making Japan cheaper,” Chakraborty said.

Currently, “overtourism” is making headlines again in Japan, as crowds of people crowd in front of Kyoto’s famous temples during the cherry blossom season, vying for a spot.

The country’s labor market — one of the closest in the advanced world before the pandemic hit – is struggling to keep up. This year, 85% of travel and hospitality operators have limited their opening hours due to labor shortages, according to the Japan Federation of Service & Tourism Industries Workers' Unions.

According to airline analysis firm Cirium, capacity on flights to China from many countries is still below pre-pandemic levels, especially from the United States (-77%).

But according to the political network East Asia Forum, geopolitical tensions are also taking their toll.

“The Chinese government’s tightening of social regulations could potentially be inconvenient for foreign travelers in China,” says an article on the government’s website titled “Visa-free travel alone will not revive China’s inbound tourism.”

China's expansion of visa-free travel is stimulate demand for visitsAccording to the National Immigration Service, about 58% of travelers arriving in the primary half of 2024 got here from countries with such regulations.

However, a report by the Pew Research Center shows that in 35 countries studied greater than half have negative views of China. According to the July report, among the world's highest travel spender countries – akin to the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and France – have predominantly negative views of China.

The report found that China's approval rankings were highest in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, although opinions in Asia were mixed.

“Views tend to be among the least positive in the Asia-Pacific region – more positive in middle-income countries such as Malaysia and Thailand and more negative in high-income countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea,” the report said.

Some people may stay at home due to the problems of orientation in China.

Since the pandemic, China has moved more payment and booking systems online, causing headaches for foreign travelers unfamiliar with common Chinese software.

Solving these problems is imperative to draw foreign travelers again, writes Songshan Huang, professor at Australia’s Edith Cowan University, in East Asian Forum.

“Booking high-speed train tickets or admission tickets to popular tourist attractions requires using WeChat's embedded program,” he wrote. “Many establishments only accept WeChat Pay or AliPay, leaving foreign tourists in a bind if they rely solely on cash or credit cards.”