Japan sees record 21.5 million tourists in first six months
'The number exceeded 20 million in six months, the fastest pace ever,' the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said in a statement.
The figure in June alone jumped 7.6 per cent to a record 3.4 million, due to 'increased demand to coincide with school holidays,' it said.
The number was boosted by a jump year-on-year in tourists from China, South Korea, Singapore, India, the United States and Germany.
But the number of travellers from Hong Kong plunged 33.4 per cent, with the JNTO citing online rumours warning of a huge quake in Japan.
People from Hong Kong made nearly 2.7 million trips to Japan in 2024.
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Although it is impossible to know exactly when earthquakes will hit, fear-inducing predictions have spread widely among the Chinese city's residents.
Some posts cited a Japanese manga comic that predicts a major natural disaster in July 2025 – based on the author's dream.
Japanese authorities have repeatedly said the rumours are false.
The government has set an ambitious target of almost doubling tourist numbers to 60 million annually by 2030.
Authorities say they want to spread tourists more evenly around the country, and to avoid a bottleneck of visitors eager to snap spring cherry blossoms or vivid autumn colours.
But as in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been a growing pushback from residents in destinations such as the ancient capital of Kyoto. AFP
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Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Johor tees up for cross-border golf boom as Singapore cuts number of courses
[KUALA LUMPUR] With Singapore trimming its golf real estate and some Malaysian courses being just 10 to 40 minutes from the immigration checkpoints, operators across the Causeway are teeing up for a golf boom. In the southern Malaysian state of Johor, home to 28 golf courses, clubs are sharpening their edge, hopeful that the shrinking number of fairways across the border will drive Singapore golfers up north, in pursuit of greener turf. Mohd Jamal Salleh, president of the Johor Golf Tourism Association (JGTA), referring to Singapore's recent announcement about the closure of four golf courses by 2035 to make way for housing, said: 'The closures will definitely help the Johor golf landscape.' The retired colonel may not be indulging in wishful thinking: Johor golf courses welcomed nearly 20 per cent more players – from 520,051 in 2022 to 621,261 in 2024, said the Johor Golf Association. Insiders are attributing this growth to Singapore's post-pandemic tourism rebound, growing interest from international players, especially Singaporeans, Koreans and Chinese nationals, and the impending course closures. Mohd Jamal said Singaporeans make up 60 per cent of weekend golfers in the state, with cost and proximity being the biggest pull factors for them. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Nishit Majmudar, a retiree who plays the game every month in Johor, pays around S$110 for each round. 'It's just a one-hour drive, no visa needed, and the vibe is so much more relaxed,' he said. 'The courses are not crowded, and it's significantly cheaper than golfing back home.' Gregory Lim, a civil servant who has golfed since the 1990s, plays exclusively in Johor now. 'I gave up my Singapore club membership because I couldn't get bookings. Now, I pay S$50 to S$70 a round in Johor.' Golfers admit quality can be hit or miss, but there are swanky new courses. One is in Forest City, with its Jack Nicklaus-designed course, just 15 to 20 minutes from Tuas; another is The Els Club Desaru Coast, which offers ocean-front fairways and stay-and-play luxury. Such courses could push others to keep up. Forest City Golf Resort has a course designed by Jack Nicklaus. PHOTO: FOREST CITY GOLF RESORT To meet growing demand, Forest City Golf Resort in Gelang Patah, which attracts over 80 per cent international golfers, is planning a third golf course. 'Singapore's high-end golfers are looking for premium experiences nearby, and we're ready to welcome them,' said Anson Li Jun Wei, general manager of Forest City's Golf Resort, Forest City Golf Hotel and Forest City Marina Hotel. The green fees, at RM399 to RM599 (S$120 to S$180), may be higher than those at other clubs, but still a steal compared to those in Singapore or China, he said. Not so green pastures Rosy prospects aside, many clubs in Johor appear to be struggling to stay in the black, say industry players, who say that thin margins and unsustainable business models are undermining the sector's viability, even as some courses are pulling in more international traffic. Steve Chong, owner of Austin Heights Golf & Hotel Resort in Johor Bahru, estimated that only one in 10 golf courses in Johor make substantial profits – but qualified that this view is based on observation, not hard data. The 30-year-old Austin Heights facility, located in Johor Bahru's Austin Heights suburb, has an 18-hole layout with elevated tee boxes, ravine carries and undulating fairways offering scenic views and a strategic challenge. Steve Chong, who owns Austin Heights Golf & Hotel Resort, invested RM20 million to improve the course in 2011. PHOTO: AUSTIN HEIGHTS GOLF & HOTEL RESORT Some operators are battling steep maintenance costs, limited pricing power and pressure from alternative uses the land could be put to. Chong noted, for instance, that green fees in Malaysia are typically below RM200, but that the upkeep of the greens can go as high as RM400,000 a month. He should know, from having spent more than RM20 million in 2021 to rehabilitate the Austin Heights course. 'I tried raising fees once and lost 50 per cent of my golfers overnight,' he lamented. He also pointed out that the land the resort sits on could yield RM600 million to RM800 million if turned over for property development. 'That's the real pressure,' he said. Glass half full JGTA president Mohd Jamal does not agree that the majority of Johor's golf courses are struggling financially, because there are signs of expansion and investment. Sebana Cove Resort in Pengerang, Johor, accessible by car or ferry from Singapore, is preparing to reopen within six months. And established venues such as the Johor Golf & Country Club in Johor Bahru are 'sprucing up for the influx of Singaporean golfers'. Johor golf clubs are 'sprucing up for the influx of Singaporean golfers', says Mohd Jamal Salleh, president of the Johor Golf Tourism Association (JGTA) PHOTO: JGTA But he warned: 'Operators should not engage in price wars against one another, as that would affect their profit.' Forest City's Li said: 'When I first arrived in Johor from China in 2018, many golf-industry friends warned me: 'Don't raise prices so readily; golfers will go to other courses. 'But I saw the local industry trapped in a vicious cycle: price competition leading to lower maintenance budgets, which caused a decline in quality, which drove away golfers, leading to more price wars.' The golf resort took a different path – it spent two years building professional teams and improving quality. 'After the pandemic, we expanded into new markets ... increasing the number of Korean golfers from 2 to 30 per cent. We proved that improving quality and expanding the pie works. Price wars have no winners.' He added: 'You can't cut corners and expect sustainable success.' Rising stars Ong Seng Keat, general manager of Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club and secretary of the Johor Golf Association, said: 'We're lucky to have loyal members and are expanding our events business.' The club, which sits in the heart of Iskandar Puteri about 25 minutes from Tuas Checkpoint, blends resort-style calm with tournament-grade credentials. It took the Malaysia's Best Golf Course title at the 2025 International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) Awards, and has hosted major events like the Asia Golf Tourism Convention. The Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone could galvanise the scene. 'Many clubs are planning refurbishments, and if the SEZ grows, it will definitely benefit the industry with more corporate events,' said Ong. At The Els Club Desaru Coast, general manager Harris Abdullah cites a good mix in customer base for the club's resilience. It hosts top-tier amateur and professional tournaments, and has the 2025 Bridgestone Asean Amateur Open on its calendar in September. Harris, noting that around 42 per cent of the club's golfers are Malaysian residents (including expats); the remainder are international visitors, primarily from Singapore, South Korea, elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US. 'That diversity smooths out seasonality and underpins our profitability,' he added. Forest City Golf Resort, which has two championship courses and more than 9,000 rounds played monthly, has won recognition for its environmental and social sustainability from the GEO Foundation, a non-profit body that supports sustainability and climate action in and through golf. Its general manager Li said: 'International golfers rarely come for just a single round. They stay longer, spend more, and support the wider tourism ecosystem.'
Business Times
21 hours ago
- Business Times
Dive into the ocean's story at Singapore Oceanarium in RWS
[SINGAPORE] The Singapore Oceanarium at Resorts World Sentosa doesn't just take you into the ocean's depths. It pulls you through 500 million years of marine history, from prehistoric predators to tomorrow's fragile coral reefs. Spread over 22 themed zones and three times the size of its predecessor (SEA Aquarium), the new oceanarium is designed less like an aquarium and more like a time machine. It's one of few marine attractions in the world that doesn't just display the ocean's biodiversity – it shows you the past, present and future, in an immersive presentation. The coral reef exhibits are a kaleidoscope of colours. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT The journey begins in the world's earliest chapters. Creatures long vanished from Earth – such as the jaw-snapping dunkleosteus and the terrifying xiphactinus – rear their prehistoric heads through life-sized animatronics, towering replicas and augmented reality. Alongside them, ancient survivors such as the horseshoe crab and Australian lungfish live in real tanks, having outlasted the Ice Age and even the dinosaurs. The subsequent zones show the ocean as we know it today. In one called Singapore's Coast, visitors are transported to the island's mangrove shores, where the archerfish and barred mudskipper dart between tangled underwater roots. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up A re-creation of Singapore's waters shows how they teem with life. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT In Coral Gardens, reef fish shimmer like confetti. In Ocean Wonders, moon jellies float in a 6.8 m kreisel tank, mesmerising the viewer with their gentle undulations. In Open Ocean, the star attraction, a 36 m wide viewing panel allows one to peer into a massive 18 million litre habitat where manta rays, zebra sharks and spotted eagle rays glide by slowly and majestically. But the oceanarium doesn't stop at spectacle and wonder. In an unexpected pivot, it dives into the urgency of protecting our oceans before it's too late. Jellyfish perform their hypnotic, pulsing waltz. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT The Open Ocean Currents zone uses art and projection mapping to track the journey of a single plastic bottle drifting across the seas. In Ocean's Future, you step into an animated ice shelf that's fracturing and falling all around you, as global warming destroys one of Earth's last great frontiers. Other installations present haunting visions of what the ocean could become if we don't act. Predators galore in this section highlighting prehistoric sea creatures. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT Behind all this is the beating heart of the oceanarium: the Research and Learning Centre. The first of its kind in Asia to be certified Green Mark Platinum Zero Energy, the facility runs on 100 per cent solar power and houses coral propagation labs, jellyfish nurseries, and conservation efforts for critically endangered species such as the bowmouth guitarfish and the sunflower sea star. The oceanarium showcases critically endangered creatures such as the axolotl (ambystoma mexicanum), a paedomorphic salamander. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT It's not just a place for scientists – it's open to the public too, through workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, and hands-on experiences that combine education with real-world conservation. Families can dig for real fossils in day programmes, design custom fish on interactive screens, or get up close with Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in guided spotlight tours. Fancy falling asleep to this view? Singapore Oceanarium invites you to glamp overnight. PHOTO: YEN MENG JIIN, BT For those chasing a more exclusive thrill, try the Ocean Dreams experience. It's a sleepover inside the oceanarium, where guests spend the night in glamping tents pitched right in front of a giant viewing panel. Dinner is curated. The lights are soft. And as the sea creatures drift by, so do your thoughts. This isn't just an aquarium. It's a call to care – for the sea, its future, and our place in it. Tickets start at S$50 for adults and S$39 for children or senior citizens. For Singapore residents, tickets start at S$42 and S$35, respectively. The attraction will be open daily from 10 am to 7 pm from Jul 24.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Argentina loosens visa requirement for Chinese citizens
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Tourist pose for pictures in front of the presidential palace Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires, Argentina October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo Argentina said on Monday that Chinese citizens with valid U.S. entry visas would not need Argentine visas to enter the country for tourism or business, a loosening of requirements that comes amid warming ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires. Argentina is a key supplier of products including beef, soy and lithium to the Chinese market and cooperation has deepened between the two countries in recent years. The decision by President Javier Millei was made to boost tourism and "deactivate" mechanisms which have "impeded the free development of Argentina's economy, of which tourism is a strategic area," according to a statement on the Argentine government's website. It comes after China in May extended its visa-free policy to citizens of Argentina as well as those of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, putting some of Latin America's largest economies on equal footing with many European and Asian countries. In line with the exemption adopted by China, it is "deemed appropriate to adopt equivalent measures for Chinese nationals holding ordinary passports who enter for tourism and business purposes," the statement said. China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner after Brazil and a key investor in infrastructure, energy and mining projects in the country. China has also extended a multi-billion dollar swap line to Argentina, mollifying billions of dollars in repayments that the Latin American nation needs to pay in the coming months. Argentina is also part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which it joined in 2022. REUTERS
