A group of Japanese travel agencies, firms and municipalities has held an event in Shanghai to encourage people to visit Japan.

Organizers introduced cultural activities that included karate during the event held on Saturday by the group and the Consulate General of Japan in Shanghai.

Booths were set up where officials from local Japanese municipalities and companies offered information on regional products and tourist destinations.

Before the start of the pandemic in 2019, tourists from China accounted for 30 percent of the overall number of foreign travelers to Japan. The Japan National Tourism Organization says compared with that year, the rate in 2022 dropped below two percentage points.

The drop in the number of tourists from China had a serious impact on profits of tourism-related industries catering to inbound visitors in Japan.

The Chinese government has begun to allow people to travel abroad in phases by lifting bans on group tours to some countries. There is still uncertainty in Japan over when such a ban will be lifted to allow group tours in Japan.

A woman in her 30s who attended the event told NHK that she enjoys traveling in Japan.

She said since she has already visited Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido, she is interested in visiting other places which are still relatively unfamiliar to foreign tourists. She said she looks forward to such a trip once the number of flights between the two countries is increased this year.