Overseas summer vacation travel” is not very exciting and the gap is widening… What are the destinations that are on the “waiting list” following GW?
International travel is less than half of what it was before the Corona
This is the first summer vacation after the COVID-19 crisis, and many people are planning trips. Domestic travel continues to be popular due to nationwide travel support and other factors. However, overseas travel remains less than half the pre-Corona level.
Japanese travel abroad, and the reasons for the slow recovery are often cited as concerns about infectious diseases and soaring airfares in the beginning, and now the weak yen and high prices in local markets. In addition, not a few people say that they cannot afford to enjoy their leisure time in a luxurious manner due to the rush to raise prices of daily necessities and utility bills in Japan.
On the other hand, overseas tours are popular, especially among middle-aged and older people who have money and time to spare, and there are waiting lists for some destinations. The “gap” between the young and the working class, who say that overseas tours are too expensive and that they cannot afford to go nowadays, is widening.
More than 90% of the passengers on flights to and from Japan are foreigners…
Since September 2010, when Japan’s border control measures were almost completely lifted, the ban on overseas travel has been virtually lifted. At the end of last year and during this year’s major holidays, the “rush of Japanese departing for overseas travel after a long absence” was widely reported on TV and other media.
At that time, some travelers interviewed at airports said, “It cost 1 million yen for a couple to travel to Thailand” or “2.5 million yen for a family trip to Hawaii. Although these seem extremely expensive, they conveyed the enthusiasm of the travelers who wanted to go abroad even if it cost a little more money than they had to endure with the COVID-19 crisis.
Even now, however, not many Japanese are going abroad one after another. I have traveled to Corona more than 10 times since then, and every month in 2011, and everywhere I have felt the “small number of Japanese travelers. On many flights to and from Japan, more than 90% of the passengers are foreigners. The automated gates at airports for Japanese immigration and entry are always empty.
The reason why we dare not “go there”…
JTB recently released its 2011 summer vacation travel trends (July 15-August 31). The number of overseas travelers is estimated to be 1.2 million, which is only about 40% of the 3.03 million in 2007.
The reasons for this are as follows: “Although there is an increase in willingness to travel overseas, destinations that are relatively close to Japan for a short period of time are popular due to high prices, a weak yen, and anxiety about going overseas for the first time in a long time,” and “the recovery trend, albeit gradual,” JTB’s overseas products are popular in Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan, Guam, and Singapore, and the company is looking to the future. Following Hawaii in first place, Europe came in second, Australia and New Zealand third, and the U.S. mainland sixth in terms of destinations.
Why don’t people want to go abroad now? The top three reasons were “I still don’t feel safe in terms of security and health (e.g., infectious diseases),” “immigration procedures are troublesome,” and “the yen is weak and prices are high. Some said that their passports had expired and that they had rediscovered the appeal of domestic travel.
