The South West of England has been dealt a major blow as Japanese tourists are spending £12million less on average compared to what they were just a few years prior.

Japanese tourists are considered key to the UK market because they are high-spending holidaymakers, often choosing to visit historical sites, dine in high-end restaurants and shop in luxury stores.

Before the pandemic hit, Japanese tourists were contributing £14m annually to the South West economy. Prior to covid, an average of 25,000 Japanese tourists visited this region of every year.

However, this figure dramatically dropped by 80% in 2023. Those that did visit, spent just £2m in local businesses, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

In a bid to entice Japanese tourists back to a region they used to flock to, local tourism representatives have recently spent a week showing off the to Japanese tour operators.

Japanese tour operators were shown Chavenage House, a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor dating back to 1383 in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and had a lesson in British etiquette from Emma Dupont, from Exquisite Cotswolds.

The group also went on a walking tour of Cirencester, an attractive historic market town in the Cotswolds, which is home to a range of boutique shops as well as really good cafes, pubs and restaurants.

"We are working so hard to get those Japan visitor numbers back up, especially with visits to the Cotswolds, which they know and love so much," said Robin Tjolle, from Visit England, who accompanied the visit, which was coordinated by VisitBritain with Cotswolds Tourism.

Tamami Hagihara, who works for Japanese travel operator ATI, said she will tell her clients about the "very beautiful scenery and landscapes" the South West has to offer.

She said: "I will tell them about the very beautiful scenery and landscapes, the local food and that the people are very kind," she said. "Japanese people love to learn about the history of places they visit."

In 2023, 225,000 Japanese tourists visited the UK; around one in three Japanese visitors came to the UK between July and September.