Tourists were certainly flocking to Japan in droves last year. The number of foreign travelers to the country rose a whopping 47 percent to a record 36.9 million in 2024, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Those visitors were led by people from South Korea, Taiwan, and China, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization cited by the outlet. Last year’s influx of tourism beats the previous record heartily—that was 31.9 million people in 2019. The increase in travel to Japan is due to a couple of factors, namely people’s desire to travel post-pandemic and the yen’s declining value. That latter trend has made Japan much more affordable for those coming from across the globe, with the currency hitting a 37-year low just last week, Bloomberg noted. A weaker yen means that dining, shopping, accommodations, and transportation are now all cheaper in Japan than they once were. The hefty tourism numbers put Japan ahead of schedule when it..
