Japan
Japan
Travellers from Japan made 13.7 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$12.7 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 225,000 visits from Japan. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £243.3 million, with an average spend of £1,079 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- More than three in five visits from Japan are by residents aged 25-54 years old (62% of all visits from Japan in 2023).
- Half of all holiday visits from Japan are repeat visits to Britain (excluding British expats, within 10 years); however, repeat visitation is much higher among business visitors.
- Two thirds of all visits from Japan to the UK originate in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area.
- 77% of departing Japanese visitors (excluding British expats) are ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the Japanese market
- The Japanese hold the UK in high regard, ranking it third among 60 nations in the 2023 Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index.
- The UK’s ‘contemporary culture’, ‘vibrant cities’ and ‘culture generally’ all ranked within the top five.
- The Japanese strongly associate Britain with ‘museums’ and ‘music’, as well as ‘sports’ and ‘films’.
- The Japanese expect that a trip to Britain would be ‘fascinating’ and ‘educational’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 12.7 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 28 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 13.7 |
| Most visited destination | USA |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | France |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 123 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 52,835 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 0.6 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 1.8 |
Caring for visitors
Leisure travellers generally prefer to stay in three-star or higher categories of hotels. Japanese women in their 20s and 30s like to stay in greater luxury (four- or five-star hotels), while students prefer budget accommodation.
There is a preference for quick service, breakfast buffets, set-meal lunches and express check-in for groups.
A direct ‘no’ is likely to be avoided in formal situations: Japanese travellers will use alternatives where possible. Small, thoughtful touches will be noticed and appreciated.
The leisure and travel trade
The Japanese travel industry is a specialised and customer-focused sector.
Many travel agencies have increased their online presence as direct booking online has increased. But 85% of all long-haul travel is still booked through a traditional ‘high street agent’.
Travel products are geared towards the 65+ age group; they have both the money and time to travel abroad.
Access to Britain from Japan
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 31 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 6,637 |
| Airports with direct routes in Japan | 1 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 1 |
- Non-stop flights operated by British Airways, Japan Airlines and ANA service the Tokyo-Haneda to London-Heathrow route.
- Scheduled seat capacity was highest in the summer months.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from Japan to the UK had recovered to 78% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Japan is £92.
Further resources
Japan Market Snapshot.pdf
Japan Market Snapshot
Japan Market Profile
Japan Market Profile
Japan Aviation Profile
Japan Aviation Profile (
Japan COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
Japan COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
Where visitors from Japan to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from Japan to the UK reside in their own country
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data come from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed.
