Local News

The Kyushu District Transport Bureau announced its statistics for the number of foreign lodgers at regional hotels and ryokan with at least 10 employees during 2010. The total soared to 1.722 million, a 57% year-on-year increase. While the return of South Korean tourists contributed to the increase, the figures have still not returned to the levels before the sharp economic downturn of 2008. There are also concerns that the Tohoku earthquake and the problems with the Fukushima power plant will limit tourism this year.