Okinawa saw record number of visitors in 2014

The Prefectural Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports announced on Apr. 21st that the total number of tourists visiting Okinawa in 2014 increased by 590,000 people or 9.0 % from the previous year to a total of 7,169,900 people, a new record.

The number of domestic tourists increased by 3.9 % to 6,183,900, while visitors from overseas increased 57.2 % to 986,000 people.  Officials say that the recent cheaper yen has led to the increase both in tourists from within the country and overseas.

In addition, the promotion campaigns by the prefectural government combined with the improving flight connections from overseas locations and the increase in the number of visiting cruise ships boosted the figures up.

By country, Taiwanese visitors accounted for 36.7 % or 362,200 of the foreign visitors. The number of tourists from Korea doubled to 191,700 compared to the previous fiscal year, while Chinese tourists increased by 88.6 % to 129,600 people.

Prefectural officials are planning to set the target figure for this year at 7,400,000 to 7,500,000 visitors. They will officially announce the target early in May.

23:53 28 Mar , 2024