Meanwhile, the yen has weakened sharply against other major currencies, making trips to Japan the cheapest in many years. Consumer-focused businesses are starting to feel the benefits.
Mid-June sales figures at major department stores indicated strong demand from Chinese visitors, particularly in the western tourist destinations of Osaka and Kyoto, according to Jefferies analyst Mitsuko Miyasako.
Cosmetics sales at Takashimaya and J.Front Retailing rebounded to just under 70 per cent of 2019 levels, she wrote in a report.
Occupancy for Air Canada’s flights to Japan was 95 per cent in May, even higher than in pre-COVID times, said Kiyo Weiss, senior director of sales for the Asia-Pacific region.
“Japan has been viewed for a long time as a bucket list country by North American leisure travellers,” she said. “Now that Japan has reopened to tourists and the current exchange rate makes leisure trips less expensive, we think this trend will continue to grow.”
Source: CNA
