JTB Tourism Research & Consulting survey on intention to visit Japan by American travelers finds that the ratio of those who have not been to Japan accounts for 68.4% of all who intend to visit Japan in the next three years.
Among experiences to visit Japan, the ratio of those who have been to Japan once or twice is nearly 80% for each leisure and business travel, and the ratio of 10 times or more is 8% or higher.
The top reason for American travelers to visit Japan is ‘local cultural experiences (47.9%),’ followed by ‘walking in old or historical towns (42.8%)’ and ‘enjoying casual Japanese foods (38.1%).’ More regular travelers chooses ‘staying in ryokan,’ ‘visiting talked-about shops or places’ or ‘enjoying casual Japanese foods,’ while first timers are interested in ‘seeing ancient tomb,’ ‘visiting islands,’ ‘seeing castles.’
The biggest trigger to encourage American travelers to go somewhere is ‘search on a search engine (51.6%),’ followed by ‘TV (38.5%),’ and ‘information on travel website (37.1%).’ Regarding searches of local experiences or foods, the top touch point before departure is ‘travel information or word-of-mouth websites or apps (50%),’ followed by ‘seeing information delivered by following companies (41.4%)’ and ‘getting information on lodgings and tourist information on a staying lodge’s website (40.2%).’ The top touch point in a destination is ‘searching on a portal site (39.6%),’ followed by ‘travel information or word-of-mouth websites or apps (33.2%),’ ‘at hotel concierge (33.0%)’ and ‘asking at tourist offices (31.4%).’
