JTB announced that Japanese travelers are expected to increase by 1.2% year on year to record-high 24.7 million in total in this coming Golden Week period (April 25 to May 5). The estimated total is broken down into 24 million domestic travelers (+1.1%) and 662,000 overseas travelers (+6.9%).
Travel consumption is estimated at 1,061 billion yen in total, which consist of 883.6 billion yen for domestic travel (+2.8%) and 177.4 billion yen for overseas travel (+8.6%). The average travel expenses a person are estimated at 36,800 yen for domestic travel (+1.7%) and 268,000 yen for overseas travel (+1.5%).
In this year’s Golden Week period, up to 10 consecutive holidays are available because of a special holiday for the imperial succession during the period. The JTB’s survey finds that people who can take 10 consecutive holidays account for 31.5% of the total, and both oneself and family members for 21.7%.
The survey also shows that people who want to spend more money to travel in the next year account for 16.1%, and less money for 34.3% and the same for 49.6%.
For overseas travel, the most preferred travel days are 4 days and 3 nights (17.6%) and 5 days and 4 nights (17.6%). As loner-haul destinations are more selected due to longer holiday period, more people travel for 6 days and 5 nights. The busiest day for departures will probably be April 26 and 27.
For domestic travel, the most preferred travel days are 1 day and 2 nights (36.9%), followed by 4 days and 3 nights (16.1%) and 6 days and 5 nights (3.5%). The most selected travel purpose is homecoming (19%), and about 30% of them stay in hotels or ryokans. The busiest day for departures will be April 27 and May 1 because more people plan to travel twice or more during the period.
