The total number of 19.74 million foreign tourists visited Japan with a total consumption of 3.47 trillion yen (US$0.03 trillion) in 2015 according to Japan Tourism Organization. China was the largest inbound travel market of Japan in 2015.
Among foreign tourists consumption in Japan, Chinese tourists accounted for about 40% with 1.41 trillion yen (US$12.25 million) in 2015. Average per consumption of Chinese tourists reached 283,800 yen far higher than the average consumption in Japan. The number of Chinese tourists visiting Japan was predicted to reach 5 million in 2015 according to Japan Tourism Organization.
Japan introduced a number of preferential policies in order to attract more people to travel to Japan in 2015. The number of duty-free shops increased including food product duty-free shops. Japanese visa policy towards Asian countries was also relaxed.
Data has become essential for Japan to understand their tourists. Home appliance stores, duty-free shops have already started their own large collection and analysis of data in order to better meet the needs of tourists. Japan Tourism Organization has collected data of shopping travelers to boost inbound consumption.