Andalucía aims to attract Japanese tourists back to south of Spain

The aim is to raise awareness of Andalucía as a holiday destination and increase contacts with intermediaries in this source market. Those representing the region will have a busy few days, with visits to travel agencies, a workshop to update tourism professionals on what’s new and talks with different agencies from South Korea, a market with huge potential for growth.

Andalucía’s Minister for Tourism, Arturo Bernal, said, “We want to attract back long-distance travellers, especially those from the USA, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.” These, in his opinion, are the markets which will show the biggest growth in forthcoming years.

With regard to Japanese travellers, he said they come to Andalucía because they are attracted by its culture and history.

“They love flamenco and gastronomy, so we can offer them a unique experience,” he explained. Between January and July this year 7,050 visitors came to the region from Japan, and accounted for 15,607 overnight stays in hotels. This was an increase of 515.7% and 375.5% respectively, compared with the same period last year. The average length of stay was 2.2 days. In addition, in the first seven months of 2022, Andalucía became the favourite destination for Japanese travellers at a national level.