News
30% of foreign visitors to Japan have experienced over-tourism in traveling
The joint research by JTB Foundation and Development Bank of Japan finds that about 30% of foreign visitors to Japan have experienced over-crowded situation in tourist destinations or tourism spots.
Narita Airport succeeded in testing interoperability of biometric identification with Hong Kong Airport
Narita International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport demonstrated and succeeded in completing digital travel procedures for round-trip travel, using Hong Kong Airport's 'Flight Token' and Narita Airport's 'Face Express'
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.
International guest nights increased by 50% in three urban areas and 20% in local regions in August 2024
The total number of guest nights in August 2024 was up 1% year on year to 64.9 million. Guest nights of international travelers were up 24.9% to 13.2 million (up 39.5% over August 2019), accounting for 20.4% of the total.
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.
Kyoto City is taking precautions against over-tourism, such as pre-booking of parking slots or a digital map to spread tourists, for the busiest autumn
DMO KYOTO and City of Kyoto is developing ‘Kyoto Traveler’s Promise’ campaign from November 1 2024 to February 2025 to promote ‘Kyoto Tourism Moral.' A pre-booking of parking slots will be introduced in Higashiyama area.
90% of international travelers to Japan intend to visit regional areas, but less than 10% have visited there before
International travelers from the world intend to visit regional destinations in Japan, but they have not been there yet. The ratio of international travelers who have visited lregional destinations before is less than 10% on average.
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.”
Outer garden of the Imperial Palace, the heart of Tokyo, is exclusively reserved as a premium event for the first time
A premium event ’Special experience in “The Heart” of Tokyo’ in Kokyo Gaien National Garden (outer garden of the Imperial Palace) will be organized for the first time on November 20 and 21.
Skyscanner Travel Trends Report 2025 finds that Japanese travelers are more interested in reset travel, immersive art and sports
Skyscanner Travel Trends Report 2025 was released, providing insights of Japanese traveler trends about Art-Venture, Sport Mode and Reset Jetters which seem to be strong affinities for Japanese travelers.
Japanese GenZ value ‘onsen or sauna’ or ‘cost performance’ in their travels and prefer solo travel and short-term domestic travel
According to Booking.com survey, the ratio of Japanese GenZ who answered ‘they value onsen or sauna’ is 49%, which is higher than 32% globally. Solo travel seems to be preferred, as the survey results show that 45% of those.
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.
Transactions on Visa cards by Korean travelers in Japan increase from 39% to 48% of all their spendings
Transactions on Visa cards by Korean travelers accounted for 62% in Asia Pacific, and the ratio of spendings on Visa cards in Japan increased from 39% of the total to 48%, according to Visa.
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.
The most popular family travel destination among travelers in Asia is Tokyo. according to Booking.com survey
The most popular family destination among multi-generations travelers in 11 countries and regions in Asia is Tokyo, according to Booking.com survey. The highest-interested destination is Urayasu, a city of Tokyo Disneyland.
Japan National Tourism Organization begins digital promotions for ‘EXPO + Tourism’ in earnest, including delivery of local NFTs
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has begun digital promotions for ‘EXPO + Tourism, encouraging JNTO website visitors to visit the ‘EXPO + Tourism’ tour booking website, and delivering NFTs featuring nature, foods or cultures in 10 regions.
‘Tourism Resilience Summit’ will be held in Sendai to discuss preparation for crisis and business continuity, joined by tourism ministers from APAC
Japan Tourism Agency of Japan will host ‘Tourism Resilience Summit’ in Sendai from November 9 to 11 2024 to share knowledge about strategies or plans of tourism resilience through symposiums and panel discussions.
