Japan attracts the most virtual tourists on Google Street View

The Asian travel and tourism industry recorded exponential figures in 2013 in terms of outbound and inbound travel. China emerged as the leader in outbound travel market. However, Japan – the land of the rising sun grabbed the most online attention, according to a recent study. The destinations of Japan were the most viewed on Google Street View

Google introduced Street View as a way to better navigate the world through photos, people began using the 360-degree imagery on Google Maps to virtually see the world without taking a plane.

PhoCusWright predicted that Japan will be one of the slowest growing online travel markets in the next few years in APAC. However, the country witnessed the most online traffic on Google Street View in Asia.

In a recent blog post, Google said: Historically, many of the most popular destinations on Street View have been the flagship European sites that lure tourists in flocks from around the world: Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Rome’s Coliseum, and the U.K.’s Stonehenge are world-renowned tourist destinations and some of our best-loved locations on Street View.

Now Asia’s getting a larger slice of the world’s virtual tourism, with Japan emerging as Asia’s leader when it comes to online visitors. What’s surprising is how many sites that haven’t been popular offline became online hits.