Retailing Industry: Inbound Data Book (Apr): Arrivals down 5.5%; China weak, West shifted forward

Research evidence excerpt

Retailing Industry: Inbound Data Book (Apr): Arrivals down 5.5%; China weak, West shifted forward

Foreign visitor numbers-related data

Korean visitor arrivals to Japan reached 879k in April (YoY +21.7%)

On 20 May, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) released its preliminary

estimate for visitor arrivals to Japan in Apr-26. Visitor arrivals totaled 3.692mn in April

(YoY -5.5%), declining YoY for the first time in three months. We believe the decline was

mainly due to a sharp drop in visitor arrivals from China to 331k (YoY -56.8%), as well as

the timing shift of the Easter holidays, which dispersed inbound demand from Western

markets across late March and early April. In addition, flight suspensions and reductions

in the Middle East region may also have had some impact.

Easter Sunday fell on 20 April in 2025, versus 5 April in 2026, 15 days earlier. As a result,

holiday demand from Western markets and Australia appears to have shifted forward

versus the previous year and been dispersed across late March and early April. By

market, nine markets, including South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, reached record highs

for April. In particular, South Korea was solid at 879k visitors (YoY +21.7%), as was

Taiwan at 644k visitors (YoY +19.7%). The data used in this report can also be provided

in Excel format.

Osaka inbound supported by non-China demand from South Korea, Taiwan, and

others, despite China weakness

On 23 April, the Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau released its preliminary estimate

for visitor arrivals to Osaka Prefecture in Mar-26. Visitor arrivals increased 3.5% YoY to

1.361mn. While Chinese visitors declined 55.9% YoY to 156k, other areas remained

strong. Of the 20 countries/regions for which individual data are disclosed, 12 reached