Japan's foreign tourist spending climbs as overtourism spreads across several nations

Global tourism reached pre‑pandemic levels in 2025, with Europe receiving 800 million arrivals and rapid growth in Brazil, Bhutan, Egypt and Ethiopia. A new analysis ranks the ten nations where international tourists outnumber residents, citing Antigua and Barbuda (3.5 tourists per resident), Croatia (4.0), Bahrain (4.2) and others as facing overtourism pressures that drive up inflation, strain infrastructure and push locals out of housing.

In Japan, the first half of 2026 saw a slight decline in overall foreign visitor numbers, yet total inbound tourism spending rose to about ¥2.51 trillion (US$14.5 billion), a 0.2 % increase on the same period a year earlier. The United States topped per‑capita spending at ¥384.8 billion, followed by Taiwan at ¥363.9 billion. While Chinese spending fell 48.8 %, other markets such as Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and Thailand posted modest gains, and several countries—including France, Indonesia and India—recorded double‑digit spending growth.