Japan Sees Biggest Tourism Drop Since 2011 Tsunami Due to Virus

(Bloomberg) --

The number of visitors to Japan hit its biggest monthly fall since the country’s devastating March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, as international tourism collapses over the coronavirus pandemic.

Tourists coming to Japan declined by 58% in February, according to Japan National Tourism Organization data released Thursday. A steep drop in visitors from virus-hit China and South Korea, which fell 88% and 80% respectively, were the main drivers of the fall.

The two nations have been the biggest source of tourists to Japan and were the earliest to face major outbreaks of the virus, which is now rapidly spreading across Europe and the U.S.. The extent of the fall in Japan hints at the hit the global travel industry is taking as nations impose immigration restrictions and airlines slash capacity, slamming the brakes on travel.

Japan’s government introduced a ban on foreign visitors from China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the epidemic, on Feb. 1, and the number of South Korean tourists was already sharply declining from 2019 amid heightened trade and political tensions. Travel bans have since increased globally, with Japan also expanding the countries and areas on its no-entry list.

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