The Zhitong Finance APP learned that Goldman Sachs economists Yuriko Tanaka and Naohiko Baba said in a report that due to the depreciation of the yen and the relaxation of travel restrictions in the country to boost the economy, foreign tourists' spending in the country may incre

Goldman Sachs economists Yuriko Tanaka and Naohiko Baba said in a report that due to the depreciation of the yen and the relaxation of travel restrictions in the country to boost the economy, foreign tourists' spending in the country may increase by nearly one-third from pre-pandemic levels, and may rise 32% to 6.6 trillion yen (US$46.4 billion) each year.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that the country will cancel a series of cross-border epidemic control measures such as the daily number of entry limits and restore the visa-free mechanism from October 11. Nearly 32 million tourists visited the country in 2019, and the number of tourists was sharply reduced due to the outbreak of the epidemic.

As the yen hovers at a 24-year low against the dollar, Fumio Kishida said it is necessary to use the weak yen to promote economic development. The lifting of travel restrictions will support Japan's sluggish tourism industry and regional economy, although it is unclear when foreign tourists will return to the country.

Goldman Sachs economists said that subtracting the overseas spending of Japanese tourists, foreign tourists' net spending in Japan will reach 4.3 trillion yen, which is enough to avoid a deficit in the country's current account balance. The report also predicts that despite the weakening of the yen, Japanese tourists will spend the same amount abroad as before.

They believe that Japan may benefit from a large amount of pent-up demand for inbound tourism in the medium term.

However, they also pointed out that foreign tourists may only return to Japan gradually, rather than return to their grand occasions in the short term.