JTB has announced its outlook on travel trends for the summer vacation period.
The forecast, which targets people going on trips of one night or more from July 15 to August 31, is based on various economic trends, consumer behavior surveys, transportation and tourism data, and a questionnaire survey conducted by the JTB Group.
The total number of travelers during the summer vacation is 69.75 million (95.9% compared to the previous year), with the total travel expenditure amounting to 3 trillion 27,430 million yen (96.8% compared to the previous year). The breakdown is as follows: domestic travel saw 68 million travelers (95.8% compared to the previous year), average cost per person 42,000 yen (100% compared to the previous year), with a total travel expenditure of 2.856 trillion yen (95.8% compared to the previous year); while overseas travel saw 1.75 million travelers (101.2% compared to the previous year), average cost per person 239,000 yen (103.5% compared to the previous year), with a total travel expenditure of 418.3 billion yen (104.7% compared to the previous year).
Domestic travel is expected to experience a slight decrease in the number of travelers compared to last year due to uncertainties about the future and the settling down of revenge travel demand, although the average travel expenses are controlled due to rising prices, coupled with shorter durations and changes in travel destinations, expecting to remain on par with the previous year.
The number of travelers for overseas trips has slightly surpassed the previous year, affected by the depreciation of the yen and high prices, but the recovery remains at about 65% of pre-COVID levels. The average cost of travel has increased due to a trend toward longer and more distant trips. While short trips to neighboring destinations, primarily in Asia, continue to be popular, this year has seen a slight recovery in intentions to travel long distance to Europe, among other places, with a tendency to choose regions less affected by the depreciation of the yen.
Reservation status at JTB shows that domestic travel is at 100% compared to the previous year, and overseas travel is at 130%. For domestic travel, areas departing from the capital region such as Hokuriku, which has been extended to Tsuruga with the Hokuriku Shinkansen in March, Izu & Hakone, and the Chubu region are performing well. From the central region, Northern Kanto, Tokai, and Shinshu are popular, with Ghibli Park, which opened a new area “Witch’s Valley” in March, gaining popularity. Departures from the Kansai region to not just Kansai but also distant areas like Tokyo and Kyushu have performed well. For overseas travel, destinations like Hawaii, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan are doing well, with Europe showing significant recovery from the previous year. MLB official game-viewing package tours have been popular among spots.
