Tourism ministers of China, Japan, and South Korea convened in Japan to enhance cultural and tourism cooperation. A new target was set to boost mutual tourist exchanges among the three nations to 40 million by 2030.
The Tripartite Tourism Ministers' Meeting, initiated in 2006, held its tenth session this year after a five-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
The 2030 goal represents an increase of 10 million tourists compared to pre-pandemic figures.
The Japan National Tourism Organization estimated 3.29 million foreign tourist arrivals to Japan in July this year, a record high. Mainland China topped the list with 776,500 visitors, followed by Korea with 757,700. Taiwan and Hong Kong ranked third and fourth.
Similarly, statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization show that 1.03 million foreigners visited South Korea in July, accounting for 70% of the level of the same period before the epidemic. Mainland China was the largest contributor with 224,805 visitors, followed by Japan with 211,468. The United States and Taiwan rounded out the top four.
