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Change in Source Data for Travel Credits in Japan's Balance of Payments Statistics

October 11, 2011
Ministry of Finance
Bank of Japan

The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan introduced new source data for travel credits, a component of services in the current account, in Japan's Balance of Payments Statistics, beginning with the revised figures for the second quarter (April-June) of 2011 and the August 2011 preliminary figures.

Travel covers the amounts paid by travelers to acquire goods and services from the economies in which they are traveling. A major part of the amounts is calculated as the product of (1) per capita expenditures of travelers and (2) the number of travelers.

To determine per capita expenditures of foreign travelers (credit), results of a survey on travel expenditures of visitors to Japan conducted in December 2007 by the Japan National Tourism Organization had been used. As the Japan Tourism Agency introduced the "Consumption Trend Survey for Foreigners Visiting Japan," a quarterly survey, in fiscal 2010, we decided to adopt results of this survey as the source data for travel credits, beginning with the data disseminated today. (This leads to more frequent update of the source data.)

For per capita expenditures of Japanese travelers abroad (debit), we continue to use results of the "Factual Survey of the Overseas Travel Situation," a yearly survey conducted by Japan Tourism Marketing Co., which are published in the "JTB Report: All About Japanese Overseas Travelers."

Inquiries

Balance of Payments Statistics Group, Balance of Payments Division, International Department

E-mail : boj-bop@boj.or.jp