Thai visitor arrivals in Japan rise 2.4% in first nine months of 2026
Thai visitor arrivals in Japan rose 2.4% to 835,400 in the first nine months of 2026, ranking sixth among inbound markets despite a 12.6% drop in September.
- Visitor numbers from Thailand to Japan rose by 2.4% in the first nine months of 2026, totalling 835,000 people.
- This growth occurred despite a 12.6% year-on-year drop in Thai arrivals during the month of September.
- During this period, Thailand was Japan's sixth-largest source of inbound tourism.
- The increase in Thai visitors contrasts with a 2.9% overall decline in international arrivals to Japan, which was heavily impacted by a fall in Chinese tourists.
Japan recorded a 2.4% increase in arrivals from Thailand during the first nine months of 2026, with Thailand ranking sixth among the country's largest inbound tourism markets despite a decline in September.
Figures from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) show that Japan welcomed 835,000 visitors from Thailand between January and September 2026, even as overall international arrivals declined.
September's figures, however, showed a decline. Arrivals from Thailand dropped 12.6% year on year to 44,800.
Chinese visitor decline weighs on Japan's tourism market
Japan welcomed 30,730,200 international visitors during the first nine months of 2026, down 2.9% from 31,651,327 in the corresponding period of 2025.
The overall decline was driven largely by a sharp contraction in arrivals from China, one of Japan's largest source markets. Chinese visitor numbers fell 55.5% year on year, although several other major markets continued to expand.
Japan's top 10 international visitor markets, January–September 2026
According to JNTO, the 10 largest source markets for visitors to Japan between January and September 2026 were:
- South Korea: 8,262,700 visitors, up 21.6%
- Taiwan: 5,997,600 visitors, up 19.1%
- China: 3,335,500 visitors, down 55.5%
- United States: 2,522,800 visitors, up 5.2%
- Hong Kong: 1,963,300 visitors, up 7.7%
- Thailand: 835,000 visitors, up 2.4%
- Australia: 771,900 visitors, up 2.2%
- Philippines: 601,300 visitors, up 1.7%
- Vietnam: 551,100 visitors, up 4%
- Canada: 518,900 visitors, up 4.9%
Thai travel to Japan expected to grow further in 2026
Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, managing director of Quality Express Co Ltd, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) and honorary adviser to the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), identified Japan and China as destinations that remained popular with Thai travellers in 2026.
He expects the number of Thais visiting Japan to increase by approximately 6% in 2026 compared with the previous year, when more than 1.23 million Thai visitors travelled to the country.
