Travel Sectors
Record-high 82 taxi companies went bankrupt in Japan in 2024 mainly because of shortage of drivers and rise in fuel cost
According to Teikoku Data Bank, the number of bankrupted taxi companies in a debt of more than 10 million yen in Japan was record-high 82, more than the previous record of 73 in 2019.
Japan Tourism Agency Director talks about how Japan tries to overcome over-tourism
Kenji Hamamoto, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) International Tourism Department Director, talked about over-tourism in Japan in the interview with Travel Voice. He emphasized that over-tourism is not 'tourism pollution.
JTB forecasts Japanese travelers are expected to be up 2.9% to 320 million in 2025, while international visitors be up 8.9% to 40 million
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers in 2025 is expected to increase by 2.9% year on year to 319 million in total, and International visitors to Japan are estimated at 402 million, 8.9% more visitors than 2024.
Japan Tourism Agency budget draft for FY2025 is up 5% to 53 billion yen, newly requesting a digital nomad promotion program
A budget draft for Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) for FY2025 totals 53 billion yen, 5.4% more budget draft than the FY2024 budget, promoting Osaka Kansai EXPO as a chance to send inbound tourists to local areas.
The most-satisfied hotel loyalty programs are Marriott Bonvoy globally and Toyoko INN in Japan
J.D. Power Japan conducted a survey on hotel loyalty program satisfaction for global brands and domestic brands in Japan. Tops are Marriott Bonvoy in global brands and Toyoko INN Club Card in domestic brands.
International conferences in Japan were up 2.5 times in 2023 with more in-person than hybrid for the first time since 2020
The number of international conferences in Japan was up 2.5 times year on yea to 1,376 in 2023. In-person conferences were 736, accounting for 53% of the total, more than hybrid conferences for the first time since 2020.
Kyoto City opens a portal site for Kyoto citizen to encourage them to understand how important tourism is
Kyoto City and DMO KYOTO opened a portal site ‘LINK! LINK! LINK!’ for Kyoto citizen as one of the efforts to increase public sympathy for tourism.
Hotel satisfaction survey 2024 in Japan announces that the top is Hotel Okura in the upper up-scale category
J.D. Power Japan announced the results of the hotel satisfaction survey 2024, and top 0f ‘upper up-scale' category is The Okura (top in F&B, room, price, facility and check-in/out), followed by Westin and Sheraton.
An Okinawa-based DMC is launched for inbound adventure travel tours across Japan in cooperation with five local DMCs
Okinawa-based ‘Nature Travel Japan’ was launched as a new destination management company (DMC). Under a brand name of ‘Japan Adventure Travel,’ five local DMCs partner to create adventure travel tours across Japan for inbound travelers.
Japan Tourism Agency creates new ‘Travel Etiquette’ and ‘Tourism Pictogram’ as guidances for travelers to promote sustainable tourism
Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) has created new ‘Travel Etiquette’ and ‘Tourism Pictogram’ to raise awareness of tourist etiquette and recommended behavior.
JTB estimates that Japanese outbound travelers during this coming New Year holidays will increase by 13% year on year
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers during this coming New Year holidays (December 23 2024 to January 3 2025) are expected to increase by 2% year on year to 28.5 million in total.
Yamanashi Prefecture gives up a Light Rail Transit system for ‘Mt.Fuji Railway Plan,’ changing to a rubber tire transportation system
Yamanashi Prefecture announced that it has given up a Light Rail Transit system for ‘Mt.Fuji Railway Plan’ and instead will introduce rubber tire transportation system without rails as ‘Fuji Tram (preliminary name).’
HIS saw a 25% increase in overseas travel bookings during New Year’s holiday period, and the most-booked destination is Seoul
HIS overseas travel bookings during the New Year’s holiday period (December 27 2024 to January 5 2025) were up 25.3% year on year. The most-booked destination was Seoul, followed by Taipei, Honolulu, Bangkok and Singapore.
JTB works together with Singapore Airlines for new tours using the airline’s NDC channel
JTB and Singapore Airlines started working together for new price-seeking tours using the airline’s NDC channel. The first collaboration tours for Singapore have been sold since November 18.
The first ‘Tourism Resilience Summit’ in APAC adopts ‘Sendai Statement’ to prevent and minimize crises and disasters caused by natural hazards
The first ‘Tourism Resilience Summit’ in APAC was held in Sendai City, joined by nine countries and seven international organizations, and adopted ‘Sendai Statement' on November 11 2024 to prevent and minimize crises and disasters caused by natural hazards.
Mitsui Fudosan of Japan will open a luxury hotel in a place associated with noble Mitsui Family, Hakone
Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsui Fudosan Resort Management will open its highest luxury brand ‘HOTEL THE MITSUI HAKONE’ in Hakone in 2026, located in Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.
Yamanashi Governor talks about the prefecture’s tourism visions, saying, “Make Mt.Fuji a world-standard tourism destination.”
Travel Voice interviewed Kotaro Nagasaki, Yamanashi Governor, to let him talk about the prefecture’s tourism visions and tourism policies including the Mt.Fuji climbing rule. Governor Nagasaki said, "Make Mt.Fuji a world-standard tourism destination.”
Riyadh Air, a Saudi Arabian startup airline, is ready for take-off next summer as one of the nation’s tourism strategies
Riyadh Air, established by a government-affiliated fund, plan to begin its services in the summer 2025. The startup airline is regarded as one of the Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategies.
JAL and Hoshino Resorts launch a joint campaign to introduce ‘a little-known but good destination’ for inbound travelers
JAL and Hoshino Resorts launched a joint campaign to introduce 'a little-known but good destinations’ in Japan on each of the owned media and offer dynamic package tours.
43 Japanese major travel companies still struggled with a 33% decrease in sales in August 2024 over 2019
Sales of 43 major travel companies in August 2024 were up 1.8% year on year to 323.4 billion JPY, but was still down 32.5% compared to the same month of 2019. Sales and customers of package tours continued reducing a lot.
