Japanese travel agencies to promote trips to China

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Japanese travel agencies announced their collective plan to promote travel to China at an event held in Tokyo on Monday, 3rd March.

According to Haruo Toizawa, manager of the East Japan Overseas Travel Center at Tobu Top Tours, since the introduction of China’s visa exemption policy for Japanese travellers, inquiries and quote requests for general group and leisure travel to China have increased significantly.

The company aims to make the most of this emergent segment’s potential, working towards restoring traveler numbers to 2019 levels.

Mitsuhiro Keimatsu, manager for overseas travel at HIS, reported that the number of travelers booking package tours to China through the agency in the first two months of 2025 has risen to 20 percent of 2019 levels.

This surge represents a 15-fold increase from the previous year, also driven by the easing of visa restrictions into China.

China introduced a visa-free policy for ordinary Japanese passport holders last 30th November, allowing stays of up to 30 days for business, tourism, family visits, exchange programmes, and transit purposes.

Tit for tat

Likewise, the Japanese government relaxed visa requirements for Chinese tourists in December of last year.

Among the measures implemented were the expanded duration of stay for group tour visas and the launch of a new multiple-entry tourist visa with a ten-year validity.

Japan Tourism Agency (JTA)’s director for inbound tourism promotion Nobuaki Iida is optimistic that these new policies will help boost two-way travel between Japan and China.

In turn, this is expected to stimulate economic growth via tourism in both nations.

Indeed, Ouyang An, director of the China National Tourism Office in Tokyo, opined that expanding mutual changes, particularly through tourism, is essential for long-term growth.

He said: “We must once again recognise the importance of exchanges across various fields, starting with tourism and cultural interactions.”

Aside from its current visa exemption policy, China also has various measures to enhance travel convenience in place, including digital payments and booking systems.

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