TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The number of people traveling from Taiwan to Japan increased 520-fold in January compared to the same month last year after COVID-19 restrictions were scrapped, reports said Thursday (Feb. 23).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), 259,300 people traveled from Taiwan to Japan during the first month of 2023, compared to 492 in January 2022, when quarantines and COVID testing were still in force. The surge in tourism between the two countries is a form of “revenge travel” following three years of restrictions designed to contain the pandemic, the Liberty Times reported.

The January figure amounted to 67% of the almost five million Taiwanese visitors to Japan recorded in January 2019, before the start of the COVID pandemic, according to data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).

MOFA called on travelers planning to fly to Japan to take precautions and recommended insurance. This is because the number of mishaps and people calling on the Taiwan representative offices for assistance have also increased following the boom in travel.