TokyoTomo Travel Guide

The number of Japanese outbound travelers who departed during the month of October 2009 declined by 0.4 percent to 1,359,000 (provisional) compared to the same month a year earlier, reported JNTO, Japan National Tourist Office. Although it is a rather small increase, the month of October under report shows a continuous positive growth following an increase of 2.1 percent in August and an increase of 15.3 percent in September. The cumulative number of outbound travelers from January to October (provisional) totaled approximately 12,869,000, down by 4.3 percent, thus showing a recovery from a demand decline of 9.7 percent in the first half of the year. However, a yearly aggregate number of the outbound travelers will not reach the previous year’s result of approximately 15,990,000, unless a monthly number of departing travelers increase by about 23 percent in November and December respectively. Under the circumstances, it seems to be difficult to achieve a positive growth for the full year. Should the fluctuation in these two months remain at the previous year’s levels, the yearly number of outbound travelers would be approximately 15,400,000, down by some four percent, and should the monthly number increase by three to four percent in these two months, it would be estimated to be about 15,500,000 with a demand decline of some three percent.

Meanwhile, the number of visitor arrivals in the same month of October declined by 11.3 percent to 655,400 registering the fifteenth consecutive monthly drop since August 2008. On the whole, the major inbound markets saw a decline in visitor numbers with Korea and Taiwan decreasing by 30.6 percent to 131,100 and 22.5 percent to 97,900 respectively amid the severe market environment. On the other hand, the Japan’s other major inbound markets such as China, Thailand, Australia and Canada enjoyed a year-on-year increase. China, in particular, brought an increase of 25.1 percent to 108,300. Although the aggregate number of the visitor arrivals dropped by 11.3 percent, its range of decrease is comparatively small, following a decline of 8.4 percent in August this year since November last year. The cumulative number of visitor arrivals including the month of October under report swung to a decrease of 23.1 percent to 5,597,800 (provisional) compared to the same period a year ago. China, as it boosted a travel demand after the month of August, increased the cumulative number of its visitors to Japan to 862,200, down by 1.3 percent year-on-year. By regional market, China ranks second after Korea (1,278,300, down by 40.7 percent), followed by Taiwan (860,300, down by 29.8 percent).

Yoshiaki Hompo, Commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), commenting on the yearly outlook for the number of visitor arrivals in Japan, said on November 25, “It will be within a decrease of 20 percent when compared to the previous year,” provided that “there will be no drastic exchange rate fluctuations nor flu pandemic and the current travel demand will remain unchanged also during the months of November and December.” The aggregate number of visitor arrivals is estimated to slide below 7,000,000 from approximately 8,350,000 which was recorded in the previous year.

In regards to the target set for the fiscal year 2010, JTA’s Commissioner indicated, although it is difficult to forecast the future performance, that he expects further promotional actions to be implemented with substantially increased budget. Especially, since the Visit Japan Year (VJY) is slated for the year 2010, he was positive on the fact that Japan Tourism Agency aims to achieve its yearly target basically with three pillars: 1) Launching a special website to transmit information 2) Providing a variety of attractive discount services and 3) Encouraging foreign nationals studying in Japan to motivate their compatriots to traveling to Japan.

Source: Travel Vision

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