Tourism Japanese travellers reluctant to go overseas

[thomas]

According to JTB, Japan's largest travel agency, Japanese still shy away from foreign trips months after reopening. JTB expects the number of outbound tourists this summer to amount to just 40% of 2019.

Japanese people remain reluctant to travel abroad after the nation's border fully reopened after the COVID pandemic in October last year, with factors such as the weak yen, inflation and lingering fears over the coronavirus stopping them from booking foreign trips. 3,614,200 people headed overseas in the first half of 2023, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) said on Wednesday. While demand has increased in recent months, that figure is 37.9% of the level for the same period in 2019, the year before the pandemic struck.

JTB, Japan's largest travel agency, estimates about 1.2 million people will travel overseas this summer -- more than double the number for the same time last year but only 39.6% of the 2019 figure. "The weak yen and inflation have been a drag. Some people may still be concerned about coronavirus infection," said a JTB representative. Other issues hitting demand include falling real wages, with the average Japanese salary adjusted for inflation racking up a 14th straight monthly decline in May, as well as more expensive flights, hotels and other services. South Korea, Taiwan and Hawaii are the top destinations for those Japanese travellers that are venturing abroad, according to JTB.

Japanese reticence to go overseas stands in marked contrast with many other regions, with Europeans and Americans quickly recovering their appetite for foreign travel once the pandemic came under control. Travel demand has also roared back in South Korea, with data from the country's tourism authority showing over 8 million residents went abroad in the first five months of this year. That is more than the around 6.5 million who travelled overseas in the whole of 2022.


Paywall alert:

Japanese shy away from foreign trips months after reopening

Major travel agency expects number of outbound tourists this summer to be 40% of 2019

asia.nikkei.com

 

[musicisgood]

Money is tight these days for the salary man's family. More young couples are now into camping. And staying within 500 km of their home for camping .

 

[Maciamo]

I'd say that the weak yen is the main reason. One euro now buys nearly 160 yen, against only 115 in 2016 or 2020. So for Japanese tourists to Europe it's like prices increased by 40% compared to a few years ago. The USD has also increased by about 30 to 40% against the yen compared to its average of the last ten years till 2020.