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World’s ‘most favorite destination’ sees tourist arrivals rebound to hit 3.44 million in July

Sandy Verma | August 20, 2026 9:24 PM CST

Crowds fill the Nakamise shopping street leading to Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, on July 19, 2023. Photo by AP

According to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on Aug. 19, the travel recovery was largely driven by a strong influx of tourists from neighboring places such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

There was a sharp drop in visitors from mainland China, down 56.1% year-on-year to 428,200.

The decline followed a travel advisory issued by Beijing in November 2025 urging Chinese citizens to avoid Japan due to escalating diplomatic tensions over Taiwan.

In contrast, South Korean visitor numbers were up 31.9% at 894,700 visitors to top the list.

Taiwan was next with 763,800 visitors, up 26.4% and a new monthly record for visits to Japan.

Hong Kong saw a 54.8% jump from last year to over 272,000 visitors.

Japanese broadcaster NHK World-Japan said this rebound follows a major slump in July last year, when unverified online rumors about a potential natural disaster discouraged travel.

JNTO reported that 17 source markets set new July records, including South Korea, Indonesia, and Mexico.

For the first seven months of the year, total arrivals reached over 24.5 million, down slightly by 1.7% compared to the same period in 2025.