The number of foreign visitors to Japan plunged 34% to 486,100 in May 2009 from a year ago, declining for ten consecutive months, as a result of the outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) and the global economic recession.

According to Japan National Tourism Organisation, the number of Japanese travelling abroad also declined due to the new influenza strain, dropping by 18.6% to 1.03 million.

The rate of decline was the steepest since August 2003, when it plummeted 22.4% amid the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Among the 12 countries and regions in which the Japanese government has been putting in efforts to attract visitors, South Korean travellers registered the steepest drop of 48.5%, followed by Taiwan and Singapore which declined by 47.9% and 40.8%, respectively.

Visitors from mainland China fell 18.8% in May 2009, after year-on-year increase in arrivals in March and April. 

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