According to a survey conducted by Japan’s large travel agency, JTB, approximately 520,000 Japanese people are expected to travel abroad during this year’s New Year holiday, marking an increase of around 13% compared to last year. The top choices for travel destinations are Taiwan followed by Hawaii and South Korea.
JTB’s forecast for this year’s New Year holiday travel trends, which spans from today until January 3rd next year, indicates that about 28.52 million people will embark on trips lasting two days or more, a slight increase of 0.2% from last year. Due to the impact of high prices, the total expenditure associated with these travels is also estimated to increase by 6.3% compared to last year, reaching 13.46 trillion Japanese yen (approximately 85.27 billion US dollars).
The traditionally sluggish outbound travel from Japan throughout the year has shown signs of improvement due to the upcoming 9-day New Year holiday period starting at the year-end and into the beginning of next year.
In terms of travel categories, domestic travel is expected to remain steady at around 28 million people. On the other hand, the number of people traveling abroad is projected to increase by 13% compared to last year, reaching approximately 520,000 individuals. The average expenditure per person is estimated to be around 273,000 Japanese yen (approximately 1,729 US dollars), representing a 6.6% increase from last year. Compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, the growth rate is even higher at 35.1%, likely influenced by the depreciation of the Japanese yen leading to higher spending at travel destinations.
These survey results were obtained in November this year through an online survey of 1,764 individuals. Looking at the reservation status for major travel destinations, Taiwanese destinations topped the list for Japanese travelers this year, followed by Hawaii and South Korea.
Regarding domestic travel preferences, Kansai is the preferred choice for Japanese travelers, followed by Tokyo, which includes attractions like Tokyo Disneyland. Kyushu ranks third in popularity among domestic travel destinations for Japanese tourists.