Vilnius tourists hit million mark boosted by Japanese influx

Most of those visitors came from Belarus, Germany, Russia, Poland and Latvia but the most significant increase in the number of tourists was from Japan.

“Vilnius and Lithuania have been involved in tourism events and exhibitions in Japan for years. But the main change is more publicity about Chiune Sugihara in Japan. There has been considerable work done presenting his works for the last two years, there has also been a film made about him. Japanese people are taking interest in the country where he lived, because he is their hero, and we are very excited to have such a gem – and because of that Lithuania can be really appealing to Japanese tourists,” said Nijolė Beliukevičienė, the head of the Tourism Department at Vilnius Municipality on LRT radio.

“In recent years the Japanese are interested in the Baltic countries, as these countries are safe and clean. This region is attractive to them,” she said.

According to the latest statistics, more men visited Vilnius than women, with most visitors under the age of 34.

The capital of the country is most favoured by tourists who travel alone and organise their trip on their own, rather than those that use the services of travel agencies.

LRT