Japan dethrones Thailand as top tourist spot

[Watawattana]

5 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

If you did retire in Japan what kind of long term visa would you pursue? I have researched it and the only options for long term stay in Japan seems to be: 1) Marriage(no way) 2) Employment (too old and Japanese companies do not like to hire Gaijin anyway 3) Education (Doubt I can I actually get accepted by a Japanese university 4) Japan has somekind of  long term visa that the government does not publicize?? My guess is wealthy people would know this but I am not wealthy. 

 

There are single-entry tourist visas, or 5-year multiple entry visas (max 90-day stay, extendable to 180 days, https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/multipleentry.html), so if I was keen I could do that.  But it is not a permanent solution.

 

I have a friend who has that multiple entry visa, and it works very well.

 

Here's are links to long-stay visas, no good for me - https://www.expatica.com/jp/move/immigration/japan-visa-79399/#long-stay & https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/index.html

 

There is no retirement visa that I know of, but going as a tourist is probably enough for me.

[sqwakvfr]

16 minutes ago, Watawattana said:

 

There are single-entry tourist visas, or 5-year multiple entry visas (max 90-day stay, extendable to 180 days, https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/multipleentry.html), so if I was keen I could do that.  But it is not a permanent solution.

 

I have a friend who has that multiple entry visa, and it works very well.

 

Here's are links to long-stay visas, no good for me - https://www.expatica.com/jp/move/immigration/japan-visa-79399/#long-stay & https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/index.html

 

There is no retirement visa that I know of, but going as a tourist is probably enough for me.

I heard from an American who was actually studying in Japan and he said in order to rent an apartment a Japanese person had to be something like a guarantor or reference. He was not clear on that point but he sounded like without a Japanese person a foreigner could not rent an apartment in Japan. Have you heard something different?  

[steven100]

4 hours ago, BarBoy said:

Japan is better than Thailand in almost every conceivable way and the people are well mannered, orderly and law abiding.

correct ..they're not scum..

[BarBoy]

2 minutes ago, steven100 said:

correct ..they're not scum..

class acts the Japanese and the women are super cool.

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

...or just maybe Thailand is the overhyped shiny turd that it is.

 

...or just maybe some folks didn't do any due diligence before committing to Thailand.

 

Don't sweat it, you're certainly not alone.

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I never came here thinking I would stay, it was only supposed to be temporary, I sucked it up for my family's sake. Now after the pandemic we find ourselves stuck here, it's like a cruel joke, but it's not....this place is about as close to Hell as I have ever been.

 

Hell is Lubbock, TX especially if you have to drive there from Houston.

[Aussie999]

5 hours ago, Watawattana said:

 

oh dear... you missed my humour

There wasn't any to miss... oh dear.

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I'm married with a daughter, and we didn't meet in Thailand, nor have I ever spent a day here in any bar chasing any girls. It may appeal to barstool expats, old men chasing women half their age, or those interested in pedophilia, but that's about it.

 

Yeah, mine's different too.

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, steven100 said:

as I pointed out,  Japan isn't known for scammers, cheats and lairs like here.  

enough said on that subject. 

 

"Isn't known" does not equate with "there are none".

 

But I guess you've spent a lot of time living and working in Japan, away from the touristy places?

[NanLaew]

7 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

As opposed to the screaming high tones of Thai's? 

 

Sounds like you have been hangin' with them ladyboys.

 

6 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Those are called ladyboys.

 

T'aint no bad thang, eh?

 

[NativeBob]

11 hours ago, jcmj said:

and people trying to scam tourists any way they can. Sad, but true. If they don’t do anything about it they will definitely lose even more tourists. They need to wake up and get rid of these problems and not just focus on more events. 

And they did it! 

They created tourist police! 

[Watawattana]

3 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I heard from an American who was actually studying in Japan and he said in order to rent an apartment a Japanese person had to be something like a guarantor or reference. He was not clear on that point but he sounded like without a Japanese person a foreigner could not rent an apartment in Japan. Have you heard something different?  

I have not, but I’m not an expert on that. 

[Watawattana]

2 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

There wasn't any to miss... oh dear.

Now I’m laughing. At you. 

[kevozman1]

Dethroned? What does that mean? Thailand is never the country with the highest levels of tourism. Just off the top of my head I can think of 5-6 countries that get more tourists than Thailand every year.. but anyway Thailand or Japan? Thailand. Mostly because I don't want to live around a bunch of weirdo robots + Thailand is cheaper and tropical. 

[kevozman1]

15 hours ago, mdr224 said:

Japan gets the kind of tourists that thailands government is trying to attract but cant because they allow chinese and russians to freeflow in

 

You mean autistic people and introverted weeaboos? I will take Nosehair Bob and Chang Vest Pete over them..

[TedG]

Japan has modern, clean cities and efficient transportation.   Thailand is Thailand. 

[kevozman1]

15 minutes ago, TedG said:

Japan has modern, clean cities and efficient transportation.   Thailand is Thailand. 

 

Ok maybe for people who like cities and have no social skills or are highly introverted, an East Asian city could be the preferred place. I prefer to be around actual humans somewhere that's by the coast in the tropics or up in the mountains. Moving from Europe to sit in a Japanese city, that is a rip off of Western European cities (like pretty much all major cities now) just doesn't do it for me, but hey everyone has their own preferences I suppose. 

[Hawaiian]

2 hours ago, kevozman1 said:

Dethroned? What does that mean? Thailand is never the country with the highest levels of tourism. Just off the top of my head I can think of 5-6 countries that get more tourists than Thailand every year.. but anyway Thailand or Japan? Thailand. Mostly because I don't want to live around a bunch of weirdo robots + Thailand is cheaper and tropical. 

The OP should have mentioned the statistics apply to Asia and the Pacific region and not the entire world. 

[brfsa2]

no surprise in this news, I went to Saporo/Niseko last years ski season and the number of tourists were the highest the locals have ever seen! even higher than pre-covid.

 

 

Japan is my #1 destination for my best vacations, I fruking love that country for going with the family.

we go there every year to Hokkaido and northern areas, we rent a car really nice and even cheaper than Thailand.

 

What I love the most:

- The Food and Winery are incredible

- Safety and piece of mind, I can forget my bag anywhere and next day it will be there.

- Ability to Rent cars that "are properly maintained" and priced properly, unlike the craps nearly breaking down you get to rent in Thailand.

- uniformity in pricing, no double standards.

- not too expensive when booked in advance, we usually book 6 months ahead.

 

 

 

 

[fondue zoo]

I sense a furious response/thainess coming...

 

[metisdead]

Off topic deflection posts and replies about the IQ rating in the USA have been removed.

[greeneking]

22 hours ago, steven100 said:

correct ..they're not scum..

Neither are Thai people. I am guessing you can not be living here holding that opinion.  That would be foolish.

[Phillip9]

23 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

I heard from an American who was actually studying in Japan and he said in order to rent an apartment a Japanese person had to be something like a guarantor or reference. He was not clear on that point but he sounded like without a Japanese person a foreigner could not rent an apartment in Japan. Have you heard something different?  

In Japan very few people speak English and no rental contract will be in English, so unless you are fluent speaking and reading  Japanese, there is no possibility of doing a regular apartment rental on your own.

 

Airbnb is available and is the easiest way to rent an apartment for a few months or less.

 

Language schools can also arrange apartments as you mentioned.  This is what I used when I stayed for around 6  months and studied Japanese.

[BangkokReady]

On 12/23/2024 at 4:27 PM, snoop1130 said:

Japan anticipates closing this year with 35 million visitors, matching Thailand’s figures, although, in 2019, Thailand attracted nearly 10 million more tourists than Japan’s projected figures.

 

I wonder what could have happened in 2019 that made people less keen to visit Thailand?

 

They talk about things like safety, cleanliness and infrastructure, which hasn't changed much in the last few years, but seem to ignore the fact that Thai people like foreigners a lot less than they did pre-covid.

 

You can't have multiple months/years-long antiforeigner campaigns and expect tourism to remains the same.

[BangkokReady]

On 12/24/2024 at 10:20 AM, sqwakvfr said:

Thailand does not a have long history with a complex cutlure composed of educated people?

 

Could you give a quick summary?

[Cardano]

On 12/23/2024 at 4:27 PM, snoop1130 said:

People walk through the annual year-end illumination in Roppongi district | Photo via AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko

 

By Ryan Turner

 

Japan’s rise as a favoured tourist destination over Thailand is attributed to a weaker currency and its preparedness to welcome independent travellers. In response, tourism operators in Thailand are urging the government to enhance attractions and improve service quality to achieve the target of 40 million visitors.

 

For the first eleven months of this year, Japan received over 33.3 million foreign visitors, surpassing its previous record of 31.8 million in 2019, despite implementing measures against overtourism. Meanwhile, Thailand welcomed 32 million tourists during the same timeframe.

 

Japan anticipates closing this year with 35 million visitors, matching Thailand’s figures, although, in 2019, Thailand attracted nearly 10 million more tourists than Japan’s projected figures.

 

Adith Chairattananon, the honorary secretary-general of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, highlighted that Japan’s cities, both major and secondary, offer better facilities for independent tourists. These include excellent rail connectivity, safety, cleanliness, and an array of attractions.

 

Adith noted that the number of Thai tourists travelling to Japan surged to 1.3 million in 2019, up from around 400,000 when the visa requirement for Thais was lifted. There’s potential to reach 2 million in the coming years.

 

 

Japan continues to be a popular choice for Chinese tourists, despite the need for a visa. Should the visa requirement be removed, it could challenge Thailand’s status as a leading destination for Chinese tourists, alongside Macau and Hong Kong.

 

Cohesive tourism marketing

 

Adith pointed out that Japan’s tourism marketing is cohesive, with efforts aligned from the national government down to local agencies. Provincial tourism bodies actively participate in international travel fairs, such as the Thai International Travel Fair organised by the Thai Travel Agents Association.

 

Despite Thailand’s appeal with its natural attractions, warm hospitality, and rich culture, foreign tour operators observe a lack of new selling points. Adith sees potential for Thailand to develop new attractions and improve transportation to meet international standards, as well as employing creative strategies to attract tourists.

 

He referenced the Black Myth: Wukong online game’s success in China, which spurred domestic tourism to locations featured in the game. Visitors sought to collect in-game items, illustrating the power of creative marketing.

 

La-iad Bungsrithong, a board advisor for the Thai Hotels Association, commented on the growing competition and noted that Chiang Mai and Thailand are no longer top priorities for foreign tourists, highlighting the need for innovative development to add value.

 

Currently, tourism operators in Chiang Mai are concentrating on enhancing key events like the Flower Festival in February and Loy Krathong in November, alongside improvements to facilities, reported Bangkok Post.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-12-23

 

 

In response to the original post; Japan is a country run by a democratic, virtuous, harmonious and intelligent regime. It does not condone corruption or allow 1% of the population to have 95% of the wealth nor does it impliment systems to keep 99% of the population at the intelligence level of a jelly fish. But the overiding factor has to be that Japans tourism authority is run by people who know what they're doing and don't come out with stupid speculative figures, don't rant on about how many trillions of yen each tourist will spend and don't have a completely self-serving, utterly incompetent organisation with the initials of TAT.

[sqwakvfr]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Could you give a quick summary?

I was asking the question?  I believe it does.  

[BangkokReady]

20 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

I was asking the question?

 

No, you weren't?

 

20 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

  I believe it does.  

 

In know you believe it does.  You said so.  I was asking if you could give a quick summary.