Record High Sales at Japanese Amusement and Theme Parks in 2023

The amusement park and theme park business is returning to its former briskness, according to the results of a survey on current special service industry statistics released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.

Visitor numbers, which had been around 80 million annually, fell to around 30 million in 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 though, these numbers recovered to nearly 60 million as attitudes changed and living with COVID-19 became the norm. After the status of the disease was reclassified to category 5 and Japan moved into the post-COVID-19 stage in 2023, annual visitor numbers climbed back up to 72 million.

Annual sales showed a similar trend. Those included admission fees and facility use fees, along with purchases made at cafeterias and shops. Although the figures had been rising prior to the pandemic, they plunged to around ¥260 billion in 2020, before rapidly increasing again between 2021 and 2022. In 2023, sales reached a record high of ¥840 billion.

Interestingly, sales have significantly increased compared to prior to the pandemic. Read another way, it means that spending per visitor has increased. Sales in 2022 increased by 96% to nearly double that of the previous year. There was a similarly significant rise of 41% in 2023.

While some facilities may have raised their ticket prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors seem to be choosing to overlook this and just think that while there, they should have fun. Could this extravagant spending be a reaction to the long period of self-restraint? With inbound tourism expected to make a major contribution in 2024, all eyes will be set on a further increase in these sales.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: The parade celebrating the fortieth anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland in April 2023. © Jiji.)