Chinese online travel platforms report increase in searches for Japanese tourist destinations

Several Chinese online travel platforms are reporting an increase in searches for Japanese tourist destination as much as threefold as the two countries vowed to further facilitate cross-border travel.

The second meeting of a high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Japan was held in Beijing on Wednesday, resulting in 10 consensuses, including one in which the two sides pledged support for tourism cooperation and the introduction of more facilitation measures to promote mutual visits between tourists from the two countries.

According to Tongcheng Travel, as of 5:30 pm on Wednesday, flight searches for trips between China and Japan during the Spring Festival holidays increased over threefold compared with the previous day, with inquiries about Japan travel packages nearly doubling.

Top destinations include Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Fukuoka and Osaka, with the highest booking demand coming from Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, and North China's Tianjin Municipality, according to a statement the company sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

Another Chinese online travel platform, Qunar, told the Global Times on Thursday that searches by Chinese mainland users on flights to Tokyo and Osaka on Wednesday rose by 20 percent over that of last week, with the number of hotel searches for niche Japanese tourist destinations including Hakodate, Otaru, and Izu doubling from that of last week.

Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that fostering tourism exchanges was one of the highlights of the consensuses announced on Wednesday as both sides seek to improve ties and expand areas of cooperation.

It is also one of the easier areas to get cooperation at a deeper level started, Da said, noting that the Japanese side is well aware of the scale advantage, vitality and potential of Chinese tourists and their positive effect on the Japanese economy.

In the first 11 months, tourists from the Chinese mainland closely trailed behind South Korea, according to Japanese media, citing Japan National Tourism Organization.

"If there are no negative factors reoccurring, and Japan is not influenced by external forces, the number of Chinese mainland tourists visiting Japan will likely exceed that of South Korean tourists in 2025," Da said, adding that the trend constitutes a major boon for Japan's niche tourist destination cities that expect foreign tourists to develop tourism-related industries.

Li Tianguo, a deputy director with the department of emerging economies at the National Institute of International Strategy, told the Global Times on Thursday that an increase in Chinese tourist inflow to Japan, as a result of anticipated further travel facilitation measures after the 10 consensuses inked on Wednesday, would be a boon for Japan's economy.