Overnight stays at accommodation facilities in Japan by Japanese and foreign travelers rose 5.5 percent in 2024 from the previous year to a record 651.49 million, preliminary government data showed Friday.

The growth was largely driven by foreign visitors, whose stays at hotels and Japanese inns surged 38.8 percent to 163.48 million on the back of a weak yen, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

Overnight stays by Japanese residents, meanwhile, fell 2.3 percent to 488.01 million, with an agency official suggesting a slowdown in the post-coronavirus pandemic domestic travel boom.

The previous record high was 617.47 million marked in 2023.

With travelers continuing to concentrate in major urban areas such as Tokyo, Aichi and Osaka, the government is working on measures to address overtourism and promote regional travel.

In December alone, overnight stays stood at 55.82 million, up 6.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, with foreigners accounting for 15.29 million of the total.

Revised figures for November showed that stays by foreign visitors increased from the previous year in 43 of Japan's 47 prefectures. Tottori in western Japan saw the highest growth rate at 117 percent at 21,610 stays, followed by Ishikawa in central Japan at 116 percent at 297,390 stays.

The figures represent the number of people multiplied by the number of overnight stays they had, according to the agency.