Overnight stays by foreigners at hotels and other accommodation facilities in Japan increased by 68.2 percent in March from a year earlier to about 12.70 million, the highest monthly figure, government data showed.

The latest figure exceeded the previous single-month high of around 12.30 million in December 2023, according to the preliminary data released by the Japan Tourism Agency on Tuesday.

The agency said the total number of guests including Japanese travelers who stayed at such facilities stood at around 54.86 million in the reported month, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier.

The number of Japanese guests came to 42.16 million, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier but up 1.3 percent from March 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak.