TokyoTomo Travel Guide

According to Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of Japanese outbound travelers during the month of January this year (estimate) increased by 8.9 percent to 1,277,000 when compared to the same month a year earlier, posting a positive growth for six consecutive months since the month of August, 2009. While its loads fall short of 1,354,000 outbound travelers who departed during the month January, 2008, January this year saw an additional increase of approximately 105,000 when compared to the month of January, 2009. The strong Japanese currency encouraged travel to overseas destinations, said JNTO, analyzing the increase.

The number of visitor arrivals as well rose 10.3 percent to 640,500, registering a positive growth for three consecutive months since last November and further registering a two-digit increase for two consecutive months following last December. JNTO reported that the month of January under report enjoyed the increase following the month of January, 2008 when 711,350 visited Japan. Among Japan’s 12 major inbound markets, Korea, Thailand, USA, Germany and France show an increase over the previous year. Korea, in particular, recorded a robust increase of as high as 78.8 percent to 232,000 travelers to Japan.

Source: Travel Vision

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.

According to Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of visitor arrivals from overseas during the year 2009 declined by 18.7 percent to 6,790,000 year-on-year. The decrease is seen for the first time in six years since 2003 when SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was widely spreading. The double-digit year-on-year decrease hits Japan’s travel market for the first time in 23 years since 1986 when the Plaza Accord triggered a rise of the Japanese yen. The main negative factors, as Tadatoshi Mamiya, JNTO Chairman pointed out, are attributed to the global economic downturn, the strong Japanese yen and the new H1N1 flu epidemic. He mentioned, “The realization of a tourism-oriented nation requires a long lead time before it is firmly established,” adding, “It is vitally important to continue the tourism promotion with untiring efforts to keep sending out necessary tourism information.”

By country, Korea showed the largest year-on-year decrease of 33.4 percent to 1,587,000, followed by Taiwan with a 26.3 percent year-on-year decrease to 1,024,000. The decline by these two top producing countries, ranked first and second, accounts for three fourths of the overall decrease in Japan’s inbound travel market. In terms of a monthly turnover, however, both Korea and Taiwan enjoyed a double-digit increase during the month of December. Meanwhile, China showed a year-on-year increase for five consecutive months since last August. The number of tourist visitors, which continued to rise after the Visit Japan Campaign (VJC) was launched, presently show a decline in share compared to the business travelers

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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

Travel Vision Inc. provides information on the travel industry in Japan via "Daily Travel Vision", a Japanese-language e-mail newsletter, and the "Travel Vision" website. There are nearly 110,000 people working in the Japanese travel industry, and Travel Vision is proud to be bringing travel news to more than 30,000 people through Daily Travel Vision.