Japanese travelers are opting for shorter, cheaper and closer overseas trips during the country's Golden Week holidays as they feel the pinch from the yen weakening to 34-year lows and higher inflation abroad, according to a major travel firm.
The average unit price for an overseas trip fell 1.5 percent from last year's Golden Week to 204,900 yen ($1,300), while the average number of days traveled was down by 1.0 at 6.0 days, H.I.S. said.
Cost-efficient holidays to neighboring Asian destinations have proven popular for outbound tourists, with South Korea's capital, Seoul, topping the ranking of the most popular travel destinations and Taiwan's Taipei coming second, the travel agency said.
Honolulu in Hawaii, which traditionally topped the list prior to the pandemic, was down to third place.
Overseas travel bookings for the holiday period rose 23.2 percent from the holidays in 2023, as Japan has entered its first Golden Week holiday period completely unaffected by coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
People are able to have up to 10 days off this year from late April to early May if they choose to take paid leave over the three non-holiday days.
A woman from Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, who is taking a vacation to Singapore, said she did not intend to buy any souvenirs amid price increases. "I want to focus on enjoying tourist spots and eating food," she said.
Despite the removal of COVID-19 travel restrictions, overseas travel bookings during the holiday period were still 46.7 percent lower than the same period in 2018, H.I.S said.
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