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.

The 2021 data is ‘incomplete’ as Eurotunnel data was unavailable for the entire year. In addition, interviewing at Dover restarted from Q3 2021 and pseudo records for the Irish land border were also removed in 2021. More info can be found on the 2021 inbound page.

For 2022, Eurotunnel data was also unavailable for the first half of the year. Interviewing at Eurostar was not affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 or the first half of 2022. The ONS restarted IPS interviews at all ports from July 2022. The latest data can be found on the monthly and quarterly pages.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019.

Visitor characteristics

Over two thirds of visits from Japan are by residents aged 25-54 years old (68% of all visits from Japan in 2019)
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
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	2021
Population (m)	126.0
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	41,165
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	0.5
Annual GDP growth (%)	1.7

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 = 164.3197 JPY

As of 30 March 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Japan

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Japanese 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	2019
Weekly aircraft departures	38
Weekly seat capacity	8,543
Airports with direct routes in Japan	3
Airports with direct routes in Britain	1

In 2019, weekly departures increased by 10% compared to 2018
Japanese visitors do not require a visa to visit Britain, nor do they for anywhere else in Western Europe
A new route from Osaka to London Heathrow was introduced in 2019
In 2019, the highest rate of flight departures took place in July-September
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 59% reduction in direct seat capacity from Japan to the UK in 2020, and 2021 was 60% behind pre-COVID levels
Those departing Britain by air destined for Japan pay £84 in Air Passenger Duty if travelling in economy class

Markets

Japan