Chinese tourists blamed for overtourism in Japan’s Kyoto despite huge fall in arrivals

Chinese tourists blamed for Overtourism in Japan’s Kyoto despite huge fall in arrivalsData from the Kyoto-city-tourism-association" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="168379" data-entity-type="organization">Kyoto City Tourism Association shows a sharp decline in Chinese overnight stays as a result of growing bilateral tensions4-MIN READ4-MIN0ListenPublished: 8:00am, 21 Jul 2026Chinese tourists are being unfairly blamed for Kyoto’s Overtourism crisis, according to a new report, even as data shows mainland visitor numbers have fallen sharply amid worsening ties between China and Japan.The report released earlier this month by the Kyoto-city-tourism-association" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="168379" data-entity-type="organization">Kyoto City Tourism Association’s destination management organisation said many local residents assumed crowded public transport, congestion at popular sights and rising hotel prices were being driven by mainland Chinese tour groups.But relatively few Chinese visitors travelled to the ancient Japanese capital in the past couple of years, the report said, largely because Beijing pressured its citizens to holiday elsewhere amid rising Geopolitical tensions.Select VoiceSelect Speed0.8x0.9x1.0x1.1x1.2x1.5x1.75x00:0000:001.00x