Japan

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information. Data for 2021 and 2022 was also impacted by COVID-19, more information can be found on the About IPS page.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019. You can access data detailed data from 2020 onwards on the latest annual page.

Visitor characteristics

Over two thirds of visits from Japan are by residents aged 25-54 years old (71% of all visits from Japan in 2022).
The Japanese are less likely than average to be making a repeat trip to Britain: 50% of all holiday visitors from Japan (excluding British expats) are making a repeat visit to Britain (within 10 years), compared to 63% across all markets.
However, repeat visitation is much higher among business visitors.
77% of departing Japanese visitors (excluding British expats) are 'extremely likely' to recommend Britain.

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Sightseeing of Famous Buildings/ Monuments

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	21.3
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	16
Number of outbound visits (m)	25.4
Most visited destination	USA
Most visited destination in Western Europe	Spain

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2023
Population (m)	125.1
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	42,493
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	0.4
Annual GDP growth (%)	0.7

Japan Market Profile (PDF, 16MB)

Japan Market Snapshot (PDF, 1.01MB)

Japan Aviation Profile (PDF, 163KB)

Japan COVID-19 Travel Sentiment (PDF, 474KB, Published April 2022)

Find out where visitors from Japan to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 176KB, Published 2018)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 181.1497 JPY

As of 21 September 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Japan

Applied filters:

Display:

Drag to change year on charts and tables.

Touch the data points to see the values.

OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

{{ totalVisitsPerc == 'Infinity' ? '-' : totalVisitsPerc >= 0 ? '+' + totalVisitsPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' : totalVisitsPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' }}

{{item.name}} {{item.data | fixUnits}}

Total expenditure (GBP)

{{ totalSpendPerc == 'Infinity' ? '-' : totalSpendPerc >= 0 ? '+' + totalSpendPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' : totalSpendPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' }}

{{item.name}} {{item.data | spendUnits}}

Total nights spent

{{ totalNightsPerc == 'Infinity' ? '-' : totalNightsPerc >= 0 ? '+' + totalNightsPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' : totalNightsPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' }}

{{item.name}} {{item.data | fixUnits}}

Average length of stay (Nights)

{{ isNaN(avgStayPerc) ? '-' : avgStayPerc >= 0 ? '+' + avgStayPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' : avgStayPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' }}

{{item.name}} {{item.data.toFixed(2)}}

Average spend per visit (GBP)

{{ isNaN(avgSpendPerc) ? '-' : avgSpendPerc >= 0 ? '+' + avgSpendPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' : avgSpendPerc.toFixed(2) + '%' }}

{{item.name}} {{item.data | spendUnits(0, 'hideUnit')}}

* Change from {{Number(activeYear.name) - 1}}

Chart
Table

	{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[1].name}}		{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[0].name}}
	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
{{item}}	{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{seasonalityBox.visits.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %

Chart
Table

		{{journeyBox.visits.data[1].name}}				{{journeyBox.visits.data[0].name}}
	Visits	% total	Nights	% total	Visits	% total	Nights	% total
{{item}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.nights.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{journeyBox.nights.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.visits.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{journeyBox.visits.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{journeyBox.nights.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{journeyBox.nights.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %

Chart
Table

	{{durationBox.visits.data[1].name}}		{{durationBox.visits.data[0].name}}
	Visits	% total	Visits	% total
{{item}}	{{durationBox.visits.data[1].data[index] \| fixUnits(2)}}	{{durationBox.visits.data[1].totalPerc[index]}} %	{{durationBox.visits.data[0].data[index] \| fixUnits(2, 'showDigits')}}	{{durationBox.visits.data[0].totalPerc[index]}} %

What Japanese people think about Britain

The Japanese have a good overall opinion about Britain; ranking it fourth among 60 nations in the 2021 Anholt Nation Brands Index. Britain's 'culture' and 'contemporary culture' were ranked third
The Japanese strongly associate Britain with 'museums' and 'music', as well as 'sports'
The Japanese expect that a trip to Britain would be 'fascinating' and 'educational'
‘Having fun and laughter’, ‘enjoying the beauty of the landscape' and 'chilling/slowing down to a different pace of life' are key holiday ‘wants’ for Japanese travellers. The USA are seen as the best place to get the first of those holiday attributes by the Japanese while Australia is seen as the best holiday destination for the latter two.
Britain is seen by the Japanese travellers as the best destination for 'revisiting places of nostalgic importance', 'getting around easily by public transport', and 'doing what they want when they want spontaneously'
38% would like to go on a tour of Buckingham Palace

Caring for visitors

Leisure travellers generally prefer to stay in 3-star or even higher categories of hotels, with Japanese women (in the 20s and 30s) prefer to stay in greater luxury - 4 or 5 star hotels and students preferring 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 with Japanese looking to use alternatives; small touches will be noticed and appreciated

The leisure & travel trade

The Japanese travel industry is specialised and is a customer-focused sector
Many travel agencies have increased their online presence as travel booking via the internet has become more common – however, 85% of all long haul travel is still booked through a traditional ‘high street agent’
Travel products are geared towards the 65+ age group who have both the money and time to travel abroad

Access to Britain from Japan


Measure	2023
Weekly aircraft departures	31
Weekly seat capacity	6,641
Airports with direct routes in Japan	1
Airports with direct routes in Britain	1

In 2023, weekly departures are 19% lower when compared to 2019
The highest rate of flight departures are set to take place during July and August.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 59% reduction in direct seat capacity from Japan to the UK in 2020.
2021 was 60% behind pre-COVID levels and 2022 was 59% behind pre-COVID levels.
In 2023, direct seat capacity is set to reach 78% of pre-pandemic levels.
The current reduced rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Japan is £91.

Markets

Japan