Travel News A third of Japanese intend "never to travel again"

[thomas]

According to a survey by Morning Consult published in August, 35% of Japanese respondents said they did not intend to travel again. The “The State of Travel & Hospitality” survey asked about “any leisure travel” and did not differentiate between domestic and international travel plans. Respondents were surveyed twice this year: in April and July. During that time, travel confidence increased among other Japanese respondents, including those who said they plan to travel in the next three months (+7 points) and the next 12 months (+4 points). Even with rising travel intentions, Japan’s rates remain far behind other countries, including North Asia.

The survey showed that some 45% of Japanese respondents said they intend to travel in the next year, compared to 65% in China and 66% in South Korea. By contrast, 77% of German respondents said they plan to travel in the next 12 months. Many nations saw a travel explosion from pent-up demand, and outbound travel bookings surged after borders reopened. But Japan's response to its own reopening has been tepid at best. Many residents "don't want to go overseas" and are choosing to "travel inside the country," Dai Miyamoto, the founder of travel agency Japan Localized, told CNBC in May. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, some 386,000 Japanese travellers went overseas in August — a far cry from the estimated 2.1 million who travelled abroad in August of 2019. Hideki Furuya, a Japan’s Toyo University professor who studies tourist behaviour, said one reason is the culture’s “preference for risk aversion.”

In 2000 and 2017, the same number of Japanese - about 18 million - travelled abroad despite the timeframe being one of tremendous growth for international travel.

“The language barrier and the lack of consecutive holidays are some of the reasons why domestic travel is preferred,” said Furuya, adding that “work environments that make it difficult to take paid vacations” is another factor.

The Asian nation where 35% of people say they’ll 'never travel' again

Revenge travelers are driving global recovery, but far less is said about those emerging from the pandemic with little to no interest to travel again.

www.cnbc.com

https://go.morningconsult.com/rs/850-TAA-511/images/220819_State-of-Travel-and-Hospitality.pdf

 

[johnnyG]

After being inundated with tourists for years, and then (pandemic) seeing what it's like without them, this seems like a no-brainer.

Why would anyone want to join that sort of mob activity, while thinking that they should be thinking, 'this is a great thing to be doing'.

Japan is positioned that way because it was previously so over-touristed.

 

[Petaris]

That's a big difference between traveling to touristy places and never traveling again.

Also, I feel like the "Never Travel Again" needs some context but according to the article was left up to personal interpretation. I suspect that the "assumed" context that people would have given it was international travel or at least traveling well out of one's own region.

 

[Majestic]

And maybe some demographics at work? Japan has a lot of old people. A lot of older people just aren't up for international travel - especially if they've lived a sheltered life, inundated by stores of the incredible difficulty and dangerousness of the dreaded "gaikoku".

 

[Uncle Frank]

As an "OLD" person , I find all the hassles of travel out weigh anywhere I can afford to go to or want to see. Between covid and all the other germs out there that can kill us old farts , fear has a part of not wanting to travel.

 

[johnnyG]

As an "OLD" person , I find all the hassles of travel out weigh anywhere I can afford to go to or want to see. Between covid and all the other germs out there that can kill us old farts , fear has a part of not wanting to travel.

That's good to point out--japanese have readily masked up, and continue to do so (even perplexing some visitors).

The analogy might be that caution about travel is sort of equivalent to the caution reflected in the continued masking.

 

[thomas]

Also, this survey was taken in the summer, when Japan hadn't opened its borders yet, and (Japanese) tourists still needed a negative PCR test to return. The results might look quite different now.

 

[musicisgood]

Domestic travel from my own experience with the Shinkansen says that during the summer, at least going down to Shimonoseke, the trains were heavily occupied . Also every campground I stayed in were full over the weekends. Weekdays though I did have the campgrounds mostly to myself.

 

[Petaris]

Weekdays though I did have the campgrounds mostly to myself.

That has to be pretty standard though. It certainly is the case here, even pre-pandemic. People camp when they have time off and the only non-weekends that campgrounds are ever filled are around holidays.

 

[thomas]

Tetsu Nakamura, a professor at Tamagawa University and a tourism behaviour and psychology specialist, says the results are not surprising. Some reasons why many Japanese turn to "never-travellers:

• Overseas travel is time-consuming even before they step foot on foreign land, and it takes a lot of time, skill and planning.
• Although the Covid-19 pandemic is a non-topic abroad, to the Japanese, the thought of complicated travel procedures abroad due to the pandemic and the risk of infection hinders people from seeking overseas travel.
• Most important: the cost of travel. With the yen at its weakest in decades and salaries that haven't been raised in 30 years, young people may be more inclined to stay at home or explore nearby locations.

"People who have always had positive views regarding overseas travel try to do so as soon as they get the chance," says Nakamura. "This is true for both before and after the pandemic. Those we see going abroad now are those people…they can't wait to go back (abroad)." Yuma Kase, 25, is a Tokyo-based finance worker who says she loves visiting new countries and interacting with people from different backgrounds. "Preparing to go to a foreign country is part of the journey and excitement, I feel. Knowing that I have to practice what to say when I get there or do some research about cultural differences is something that I look forward to," Kase says. But her love of exploring isn't genetic. Her mother hates to travel and likes to stick to a fixed daily routine. "The farthest my mother has been to in 2022 was an outlet mall," laughs Kase. According to the latest data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of Japanese overseas travelers was down 86.2% in 2022, with around 2.7 million people compared to the 20 million figure in 2019.

Why Japan has so many ‘never travelers’

 

[johnnyG]

Prices for air tickets are certainly higher than pre-pandemic--no doubt about that.

Plus the paperwork, and getting the right apps onto your phone, etc.

 

[Maciamo]

I wonder how many of these 35% of respondents who said that they will never travel again will actually stick to it. A lot of people are very fickle and inconsistent. Just look at Britain with the Brexit. Even though 52% voted in favour of Brexit, the latest poll shows that only 33% think it was the right thing to do. Almost 20% of the population changed mind after just a few years for something that affects their personal life, job, holidays and the country's overall economy.

 

[Lothor]

I wonder how many of these 35% of respondents who said that they will never travel again will actually stick to it. A lot of people are very fickle and inconsistent. Just look at Britain with the Brexit. Even though 52% voted in favour of Brexit, the latest poll shows that only 33% think it was the right thing to do. Almost 20% of the population changed mind after just a few years for something that affects their personal life, job, holidays and the country's overall economy.

Also with Brexit, in surveys that asked British people what issues were more important to them up until about 2012, the EU was way down the list of concerns, a complete contrast from a few years later. (I tried to find a link for this but couldn't, so I'm just going by memory.) On the subject of travel, I agree with you and think that Japanese people will change their minds in the next year or two.

 

[Majestic]

I saw this tweet on my timeline, and a couple of things struck me.


1. What a great photo.
2. In contrast to #1 above, this photo makes Japan look more exotic and otherworldly than it is. The vanishing point of commercial signage is exotic and, in a way, sexy. But I'm already exhausted by it. And I'm wondering what it looks like on Tuesday mornings or whenever the trash is collected, and what it smells like in the summer when all these bars and restaurants have their trash sitting on the street cooking in the 30 degree heat.
3. There are some foreigners who have lived in Japan a while and internalized certain insular attitudes: "gaikoku" is overrated, scary, expensive. The guy who tweeted about going to Italy and couldn't wait to return to Japan, for example. Now I've gone to a lot of places, and have been ripped off, pickpocketed, had bad food, lost my wallet, etc... but I've never thought, "Japan has it all and I never should leave it again". It just seems a very unusual attitude to me, unless you were 85+ and it was just physically a burden to travel a great distance. Its almost like trying to prove how much you love Japan by hating on the rest of the world.

 

[thomas]

3. There are some foreigners who have lived in Japan a while and internalized certain insular attitudes: "gaikoku" is overrated, scary, expensive. The guy who tweeted about going to Italy and couldn't wait to return to Japan, for example. Now I've gone to a lot of places, and have been ripped off, pickpocketed, had bad food, lost my wallet, etc... but I've never thought, "Japan has it all and I never should leave it again". It just seems a very unusual attitude to me, unless you were 85+ and it was just physically a burden to travel a great distance. Its almost like trying to prove how much you love Japan by hating on the rest of the world.

I can somehow relate to his arguments for different reasons, though. While I try to visit my family every few years, we haven't been "travelling abroad" since 2012. Honestly, we prefer to spend the scarce holidays we can take together travelling in Japan. If you have less than a week for your vacation, going abroad is simply めんどくさい. And the Japan bucket list is still endless.

 

[Majestic]

Well, you're not wrong there. Japan has a lot to offer, especially if you are a Japanese food lover and/or a sake lover. Very photogenic, too, with almost no pickpockets or other street crime. And if you don't have enough time or money or days off to contend with jet-lag, then yes overseas vacations can be more trouble than they are worth. And, if you have kids, then the trouble is compounded.

I just feel like these foreigners are trying to outdo each other by denouncing gaikoku as a dangerous place unworthy of attention.