NIKKO CITY: A Record 120,000 Foreign Guests

Posted on March 24, 2024

Nikko City announced on November 18 that the number of foreign visitors to the city in 2023 reached 120,974, approximately eight times the number of the previous year, surpassing the record high of 119,253 set in 2007 before the spread of the new coronavirus infection. In addition to the easing of restrictions on entry into Japan and the depreciation of the yen, the number of cases is believed to have been influenced by the significant increase in awareness of NIKKO, including last year’s G7 Gender Equality and Women’s Activities Ministers’ Meeting, as well as a feature article in a major U.S. magazine.

Mayor Shoichi Konakawa announced at a regular press conference on the same day. While the estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in 2011, compiled by the Japan National Tourism Organization, was only less than 80% of that in 2007, the number of foreign overnight visitors to Nikko City recovered rapidly, much faster than in the country as a whole.

In recent years, Nikko has attracted attention through a feature article in the major U.S. magazine Forbes (2007) and the selection of The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko as the second best hotel in Japan (2011) by Condé Nast Traveler, a major U.S. travel magazine. In addition, the prefecture’s establishment of “Tourism Reps” in the U.S., Thailand, and China in August 2011 is also believed to have been a success.