Japan is looking to push up the rising number of Indian tourists to the country by issuing e-visas. According to the Ministry of Japan, those travelling for a tourist visa can stay in the country for 90 days, while those travelling to Japan will have to apply to the embassies and consulates as normal. The e-visa facility is now accessible to nationals from Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, China, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and India.
The e-visas have been issued from April 1 and will look to boost the growing number of tourists to the country. According to figures released by the Japanese tourism ministry, Indian tourists to Japan hit a high in 2019 when it welcomed 1,75,000 Indian nationals. With the coming of Covid, Japanese tourism figures dipped but figures of 1,52,814 nationals in 2023 showed it is on an upward trend again.
According to figures for 2024, the estimated number of international travellers to Japan in January 2024 was 2,688,100 (at the same level as in 2019). Korea had the highest number of foreign visitors at 857,000, followed by Taiwan at 492,300, and China at 415,900. India is not a prime market right now in terms of numbers, but average spend by the Indian tourist, makes India a lucrative market. Japanese tourism officials had set a target of $1,500 (200,000 JPY) spend per person which India has met. Therefore, to get more Indian tourists e-visas may be a good idea.
Indians already have e-visas to Singapore, Turkey, Laos, Ethiopia, and Georgia through which numbers have increased to these nations. Now that Japan has chosen to follow this route, tourism officials and those in the travel and tourism trade in Japan believe that much more Indian tourists looking for a different destination may choose to come here.
