The latest JTB Tourism Research & Consulting survey on the relation between smart phones and travel consumption reveals that the ratios of ‘I went to a place I found on SNS (18.3%)’ and ‘I bought goods I knew on SNS (16.9%)’ have gradually increased since 2015. Consequently, the use of SNS appears as a real opportunity to stimulate consumption.
Instagram is the biggest opportunity related to going out or buying goods, followed by Twitter.
The graph below shows user behaviors on SNS:
The graph below shows user behaviors by SNS:
Regarding travel consumption, the ratio of bookings or purchases of travel products on smart phones doubled between 2013 (19.4%) and 2017 (45.2%). Growth is visible for three consecutive years regarding accommodation (up to a share of 25%), tours in Japan (share: 14.0%) and air tickets (share: 10.5%).
The major reasons for not using smart phones are ‘It is inconvenient to input information in a smart phone’ and ‘I am uncomfortable buying expensive products on a smart phone.’
JTB Tourism Research & Consulting said that the major reasons for not purchasing overseas travel tours using a smart phone are an increase in FIT or dynamic package travelers and cumbersome inputs such as passport information.
The graph below compares the booking/purchase of travel products using smart phones:
The graph below compares the reasons for not using smart phones to book or purchase travel products:
A screening survey was conducted on 25-26 September 2017, gathering data from 18-69 y.o. men and women in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The main survey targeted 1,030 smart phone users who booked and purchased domestic travel products including day trips using a smart phone during the past 12 months.
