Intent to Visit Japan and Regional Popularity Skyrocket!? The Evolution of "Inbound" Tourism Seen Through 10 Years of Data

Part 1 In the first installment, we analyzed the current state of the "Japan Brand" from eight perspectives based on the latest 2024 survey. In this second installment, we will focus specifically on "inbound tourism." By looking back at past surveys, we aim to understand the evolution that led to the current state and gain a deeper insight into how the world perceives Japan.

Maintaining 80% "Japan fans." Growing fanbase in the US and Australia

The Japan Brand Survey continuously gauges positive sentiment toward Japan. The 2024 results show that around 80% of respondents overall answered "like," maintaining the same high level of positive sentiment as 10 years ago. Comparing by country/region, Asia remains at the top, but the rankings have shifted slightly, with Southeast Asian countries now occupying the top three spots.

Meanwhile, outside Asia, the US has risen in the rankings, showing a significant improvement of +7.2 points compared to five years ago (+8.0 points compared to ten years ago). Australia, while unchanged in ranking since 2019, saw its score rise by +5.3 points. Both countries show increased interest and action toward Japan, such as rising visitor numbers, alongside this growing favorability.

The U.S., Australia, and India: Soaring visit intentions alongside growing favorability!

Looking at the trend in visit intentions since we began surveying 10 years ago, while some countries saw a dip in 2019, many have maintained or improved their scores overall. Compared to 2019, just before the pandemic, scores have skyrocketed by over 10 points in the US and Australia, where favorability rose, and in India, which returned to the top 5 ranking.

As mentioned in past articles, we believe a positive attitude toward Japan is driving these visit intentions. On the other hand, Germany stands out as a country where visit intentions have significantly increased compared to 2019, despite its positive sentiment not rising.

Germany ranks second only to mainland China in outbound travelers and is considered one of the world's leading travel nations. It can be inferred that Germans, accustomed to overseas travel, recognize Japan's appeal as a destination regardless of their existing favorability. This suggests a potential pathway: rather than visiting Japan solely due to existing affection or interest in the Japan brand, the trip itself could foster new affection and further expand interest in the Japan brand.

The desire to visit regional areas, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, has skyrocketed!

Visiting Kyoto, I used to notice many tourists from Asia, but now I'm surprised by the large number of Western tourists. This trend is also evident when comparing with the past. Compared to pre-COVID 2019, when many countries saw significant changes in their intention to visit Japan, the scores for "Kyoto" and "Osaka" as desired prefectures to visit increased overall.

This trend was also seen in the US, Australia, India, and Germany, where the desire to visit Japan increased significantly, with some countries seeing scores rise by 10 points or more. Beyond Kyoto and Osaka, distinct characteristics emerged for each country.

The United States and Australia showed interest in "Okinawa" or "Hokkaido." India expressed interest in "Saitama," "Shizuoka," and "Yamagata," areas accessible by train or bullet train from Tokyo. Germany, with its experienced travelers, showed heightened interest in historical locations like "Fukushima" and "Hiroshima" (with "Nagasaki" as a close second, though not listed).

Morioka City was selected for The New York Times' "52 Places to Go in 2023," while Yamaguchi City was chosen for "52 Places to Go in 2024." This growing attention to Japan's regions is likely a key factor behind the significant surge in visit intentions.

Is the broadening range of things people want to do in Japan the key to the explosive growth in visit intentions and regional interest?

So, what lies behind this broadening of desired destinations in Japan? While the options differ, comparing the top 10 items in the "Things to Do in Japan" question between the 2015 survey (about 10 years ago) and the 2024 survey reveals noticeable changes in content.

"Japanese cuisine" has consistently ranked high among things people want to do in Japan since the 2015 survey. This trend remains unchanged in the US, Australia, and India. The 2024 survey even shows two food-related items in the top rankings, indicating a desire to experience Japanese cuisine from various angles.

India, in particular, shows a notable increase in interest in Japanese cuisine compared to other countries and regions. While interest was not exceptionally high ten years ago, the 2024 survey results show a significant rise in its ranking, indicating a substantial growth in overall interest.

Conversely, in Germany, preferences for purely sightseeing activities like "Japanese gardens" and "visiting shrines and temples" have grown more than Japanese cuisine, clearly reflecting the tastes of travel-loving Germans.

Furthermore, in Australia, India, and Germany, items like "visiting Japan's World Heritage sites" and "taking the Shinkansen for regional sightseeing" also ranked highly. This reaffirms that the diversification of "things to do in Japan" is a key factor behind the growing interest in visiting regional areas mentioned earlier.

Japanese cuisine, a major inbound motivation, also gains breadth and depth!

Finally, let's examine the expansion of Japanese cuisine, a major motivation for visiting Japan. In the 2015 survey, roughly 10 years ago, the top three Japanese dishes respondents wanted to eat were "sushi," "tempura," and "sashimi."

In the 2024 survey, the question was rephrased to "What do you want to eat in Japan?", with "ramen" taking the top spot alone. Additionally, "kaiseki cuisine" was cited as a traditional Japanese dish, and entertainment-focused Japanese foods like "teppanyaki" rose in the rankings.Furthermore, fried foods like "karaage" and "tonkatsu," as well as Western-style dishes like "ebi fry," also ranked highly. This suggests a broadening and deepening of the range of Japanese cuisine people want to experience.

We observed a positive chain reaction: the growing desire to experience culinary delights—from classic staples like "The Japanese Cuisine" to everyday gourmet fare—is further boosting inbound interest.

This time, we examined the trends of the Japan Brand Survey, which has been ongoing for over a decade, specifically from the perspective of "inbound tourism." The survey results clearly show what many people intuitively feel: over the past decade, information about Japan has increased, gaining breadth and depth, moving beyond the stereotypical perception of "Japan means Tokyo" and "Japanese food means sushi." This shift is driving inbound tourism.

We anticipate that tourists will increasingly seek diverse experiences and visit all corners of Japan. Building on this foundation, the Japan Brand Survey Project Team will continue exploring how to further increase touchpoints with the Japan brand for a broader audience.

[Contact for Inquiries Regarding This Matter]
Dentsu Inc. Dentsu Japan Brand Survey Project Team
japanbrand@dentsu.co.jp

Japan Brand Survey Hub Page
https://www.dentsu.co.jp/knowledge/japan_brand/

【About the Dentsu Inc. Japan Brand Survey】
Dentsu Inc.'s proprietary survey launched in 2011 to understand how the Japan brand was perceived globally when reputational damage occurred to Japanese agricultural and marine products and inbound tourism following the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2022, it evolved into a cross-company project activity to enhance expertise through a fundamental restructuring of survey design, analytical approaches, and outputs.In 2025, it will newly plan and build a knowledge portfolio for the general public, aiming to create social value grounded in consumer insights.
The Japan Brand Survey regularly gauges the perceptions and realities of overseas consumers regarding the Japan Brand as a whole, covering areas such as inbound tourism, regional revitalization, food, Japanese products, content, values, lifestyles, and social trends. It visualizes the changing sentiments of consumers and the challenges and potential of the Japan Brand, contributing to increasingly complex corporate activities while also promoting cross-cultural understanding within Japanese society.

[Dentsu Inc. Japan Brand Survey 2024 Overview]
・Target Areas: 15 countries/regions (United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea)
・Sample Size: 7,460 (Breakdown: USA 960, India 900, Mainland China 800, Other countries/regions 400 each)
・Survey Period: January 19 to March 26, 2024
・Respondent criteria: Men and women aged 20–59 (middle-income and above)
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Research Organizations: Dentsu Inc. (Principal Investigator), Video Research Ltd. (Implementation Support)

[Notes and Disclaimers]
※1: Mainland China coverage areas: Shanghai and Beijing; India coverage areas: Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru; Australia: Greater Sydney metropolitan area; Southeast Asia: Primarily metropolitan areas.
※2: Definition of middle-income level: Criteria set per country based on national average income (e.g., OECD statistics) and social class classification (SEC).
※3: Samples were collected with equal allocation by gender and age group for each country/region, then weighted to match the population composition.
※4: Proportions in this survey are rounded to the second decimal place (or first decimal place for some integer values), so totals may not add up to 100%.
※5: Country and region names used in this survey report and on the website follow the longstanding views of the Japanese government, Japanese social norms, and business practices.
※6: In creating the charts and graphs for this survey, the names of the countries and regions analyzed use the international standard ISO Country Code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2/3), with some exceptions.
United States/US/USA, Canada/CA/CAN, Australia/AU/AUS, United Kingdom/UK/GBR, Germany/DE/DEU, France/FR/FRA, Italy/IT/ITA,Spain/ES/ESP, Finland/FI/FIN, United Arab Emirates/UAE, Saudi Arabia/SA/SAU, India/IN/IND, Indonesia/ID/IDN, Singapore/SG/SGP, Malaysia/MY/MYS, Philippines/PH/PHL, Thailand/TH/THA,Vietnam/VN/VNM, Mainland China/CN/CHN, Hong Kong/HK/HKG, Taiwan/TW/TWN, South Korea/KR/KOR
※7: The names of countries and regions used in this survey are for statistical or analytical convenience only and do not indicate any political stance or viewpoint.
※8: The maps used in this survey (world map and Japan map) have been partially modified and cropped to suit the analysis content and page layout. They do not necessarily accurately reflect national borders or territorial boundaries.