Visitors to Japan top 2m in June for the first time
TOKYO
Published: 06:07 PM,Jul 19,2023 | EDITED : 09:07 PM,Jul 19,2023
Tokyo sushi stalwart Kyubey is among Japanese retail businesses riding a tourism boom, fuelled by the weak yen and fostering an increase in consumer prices and hopes for a boost to the broader economy. Inbound visitors rose to 2.07 million in June, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said clearing the 2 million mark for the first time since February 2020.
Kyubey, in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, is one of the beneficiaries of the better times after surviving a 70 per cent plunge in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Compared with 2019, business at our restaurants has made a complete comeback or got even better, thanks in part to a rebound in the number of foreign tourists,' said owner and chef Yosuke Imada. 'People from overseas spend up to about 50,000 yen ($359). Perhaps they don't feel it's that expensive thanks to a weak yen,' Imada said. - Reuters
Kyubey, in Tokyo's upscale Ginza shopping district, is one of the beneficiaries of the better times after surviving a 70 per cent plunge in sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Compared with 2019, business at our restaurants has made a complete comeback or got even better, thanks in part to a rebound in the number of foreign tourists,' said owner and chef Yosuke Imada. 'People from overseas spend up to about 50,000 yen ($359). Perhaps they don't feel it's that expensive thanks to a weak yen,' Imada said. - Reuters