Q.What do inbound visitors spend the most on?
Published 2026-06-18
Answer
In 2024, inbound visitors spent a record ¥8.13 trillion in Japan. By category, lodging was the largest at 33.6%, followed by shopping (29.5%) and food & drink (21.5%). Spending per person was about ¥227,000 (JTA final annual report, 2024).
Inbound spending hit ¥8.1tn in 2024 — and lodging led the way
According to the Japan Tourism Agency's final annual report for 2024, inbound travel spending reached ¥8.1257 trillion — about 53% higher year on year and about 69% above the pre-pandemic 2019 level, a record for a calendar year. The total comprises ¥8.0790 trillion from general visitors and ¥46.7 billion from cruise passengers. Spending per visitor was about ¥227,000, and lodging was the largest category at 33.6%.
8.13trillion yen — inbound travel spending in 2024 (record high)
227,000yen of travel spending per inbound visitor
33.6%lodging — the largest spending category
The breakdown: lodging, shopping and food make up over 80%
The category shares are shown below. The top three — lodging, shopping and food & drink — together make up over 80% of the total. Transport accounted for 10.7%, and entertainment & services for 4.7%. All shares are from the JTA's final 2024 annual report.
- Lodging33.6%
- Shopping29.5%
- Food & drink21.5%
- Transport10.7%
- Entertainment & services4.7%
| Category | Share |
|---|---|
| Lodging | 33.6% |
| Shopping | 29.5% |
| Food & drink | 21.5% |
| Transport | 10.7% |
| Entertainment & services | 4.7% |
Food ranks third in spending, but Japanese cuisine leads expectations
Food & drink ranks third in spending at 21.5%, but spending and travel expectations measure different things. In the same JTA survey, "eating Japanese food" was the most frequently selected pre-trip expectation, chosen by 82.2% of respondents in a multiple-response question. This should not be confused with the ranking from the separate single-response question.
21.5%food & drink share of inbound spending
82.2%expected Japanese food (top multiple response)
Nara's homework is lodging — escaping the day-trip pattern
Lodging is the biggest inbound spending category (33.6%). Yet Nara is known as a day-trip, pass-through destination with relatively few places to stay. In 2024, overnight stays in Nara Prefecture reached a record 3,296,688 (Nara Prefecture lodging survey, up 12.2% year on year) — but that is still small on a national scale. As long as visitors sleep in Kyoto or Osaka and only day-trip to Nara, the largest spending category slips away. Extending the length of stay is Nara's homework. Start with the datasets below to see Nara's lodging and visitor trends for yourself.
Datasets behind this article
- インバウンド観光庁
Inbound Consumption Trend Survey (Japan Tourism Agency)
A quarterly survey of foreign visitor spending in Japan (formerly the Foreign Visitor Consumption Trend Survey). Publishes total travel consumption, per-capita spending by country/region, and breakdowns by category such as lodging, dining, and shopping. The baseline data for understanding the scale and structure of inbound consumption.
Questions this data can answer
How much does a foreign visitor spend per trip on average?
XLSXPDFUpdated2026-07-26 - 宿泊観光庁
Overnight Stay Statistics Survey (Japan Tourism Agency)
A statistical survey of accommodation facilities by the Japan Tourism Agency. Reports total guest nights, foreign guest nights, and room occupancy rates by prefecture — one of the few official datasets that lets you compare Nara's lodging demand with the rest of Japan. Monthly preliminary figures and annual final figures are published.
Questions this data can answer
How have total and foreign guest nights in Nara changed over time?
XLSXPDFUpdated2026-07-26 - 宿泊奈良県
Nara Prefecture Lodging Statistics Survey
The prefecture’s survey of lodging trends since 2009: guest-nights by area, facility type and month, occupancy rates, average length of stay, plus international guest numbers.
Questions this data can answer
How are guest-nights trending by area and month in Nara?
PDFUpdated2026-07-26 - インバウンド奈良県
Nara Prefecture International Visitor Estimates
Estimates of international visitors to Nara, derived by applying the prefecture’s visitation rate to national arrival figures. Annual Excel series from 2012 with nationality breakdowns — a first-stop overview of Nara’s inbound scale.
Questions this data can answer
How many international tourists are estimated to visit Nara each year?
XLSXHTMLUpdated2026-07-26 - インバウンドJNTO
JNTO Visitor Arrivals Statistics
Monthly statistics on foreign visitor arrivals to Japan published by the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), broken down by country/region. The most fundamental time-series data on inbound demand, with market profiles and trend analyses. Note these are national figures, not Nara-specific.
Questions this data can answer
What are the monthly trends in visitor arrivals by country/region?
XLSXPDFHTMLUpdated2026-07-26