What kind of boost does the economy get from an increase in foreign tourists?
Amid a prolonged slump in exports — a key economic driver — tourism could prove a viable contributor, if Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.’s estimates are to be believed.
In June, the brokerage estimated that the economic impact from tourism in 2013 reached ¥16.7 trillion, representing 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, according to the Nikkei newspaper. The figure includes the impact on industries such as railways, hotels, tourist agencies and amusement parks. It rivals the estimated ¥16.6 trillion contribution by the transportation machinery industry, which is led by automakers, and exceeds the electronics industry’s ¥14.9 trillion.