Spending by foreign visitors hits new high

Foreign visitors in Japan spent more than 880 billion yen, or seven billion dollars, in the April-June period.
The Japan Tourism Agency says the figure is a record high for a quarter. It was up 82.5 percent from the same period last year.The amount includes spending on accommodation, shopping, food, and transportation.

The increase is attributed to an expanded list of shopping items which are exempt from consumption tax for foreign travelers in Japan.As another factor, department stores are providing better services for foreign visitors, such as increasing foreign-language-speaking staff.Spending by Chinese travelers tripled to about 2.9 billion dollars from the same period of last year. Travelers from Taiwan followed at 1.2 billion dollars and South Koreans came next with 520 million dollars.