Sales at Japanese department stores and duty-free shops increased significantly as tourists visiting Japan started shopping for expensive brands amid the yen’s depreciation. In particular, the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan recovered to about 60% of 2019 when there was no impact of COVID-19.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 19th, duty-free sales at Japan’s five major department stores, including Takashimaya, in November reached 50-90% compared to November 2019, before the COVID-19 epidemic. In the case of Mitsukoshi Isetan Department Store, duty-free sales in the Seoul metropolitan area from late November to the beginning of this month increased by 4% from the same period in 2019.
Duty-free sales have soared because foreign tourists are buying a large number of luxury brand products and expensive watches at Japanese department stores. Due to the sharp drop in the value of the yen, Japanese prices of most luxury brands are cheaper than any other foreign country such as Europe. According to the Japan Department Store Association, the unit price per person who visited Japan was 192,000 yen (about 1.84 million won) as of October, nearly three times higher than 65,000 yen (about 620,000 won) in October 2019, before the spread of COVID-19. This means that foreign tourists are spending much more money in Japan than before.
Matsuya Ginza Department Store’s duty-free sales from December 1 to 15 increased by 5.7% compared to the same period in 2019. High-end brand bags and watches were mainly sold at around 500,000 yen (about 4.79 million won), according to the department store. Among foreigners traveling in Japan, there are the most Koreans
Analysts say that the surge in duty-free sales at Japanese department stores has also affected the significant increase in the number of Korean tourists visiting Japan after allowing foreigners to enter the country without a visa on October 11. According to the Japan Government Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of visitors to Japan in October was 498,600, of which 122,900 were Koreans, accounting for 24.6% of the total. Second place was the U.S. (53,200), less than half of the Korean visitors to Japan, followed by Hong Kong (36,200), Taiwan (35,000), and Thailand (34,100).
The number of foreign tourists who visited Japan in October this year is 20% of October 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis, but Koreans have recovered to 62.3% of the same month (197,281 people) three years ago. In fact, according to Interpark, a Korean travel reservation site, ticket issuance to Japan in the first to third weeks of October surged 589.3% compared to the same period in September. The proportion of travelers heading to Japan was 48.2% of all ticket buyers.
No Chinese tourists coming back… there’s no “bullying.”
In addition to the increase in the number of visitors to Japan, Japanese hotels and inns are also recovering their reservation rates before COVID-19 as the Japanese government’s travel promotion policy, “National Travel Support,” overlaps. However, Nikkei reported that the recovery of sales at drug stores and home appliance stores, where Chinese “exploited” cosmetics, is slow as tourists from China, which accounted for 30% of foreigners visiting Japan before COVID-19, have not yet returned. More foreign tourists are expected to visit Japan next year. The Nomura Institute estimated that the number of visitors to Japan in 2023 was 13.84 million. Although it is less than half of the 31.88 million people in 2019 before COVID-19, the number of visitors to Japan from January to October 2022 is significantly higher than 1.52 million.
SOPHIA KIM
ASIA JOURNAL
