On January 10, JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents) held a New Year’s press conference at its headquarters in Tokyo, where Chairman Hiroyuki Takahashi explained future initiatives. The following are excerpts from Chairman Takahashi’s comments.
Press Conference Details
I would like to start with what is normally a bright topic for the New Year, but first, I would like to talk about compliance. In the travel industry, since 2021, there have been multiple cases of fraud in employment adjustment subsidies, national and local government travel support programs, and commissioned projects.
In response to this situation, JATA has taken various steps to prevent recurrence, including the preparation of a compliance manual and classroom training for management, but in November 2023, the Fair Trade Commission entered five member companies.
As part of efforts to further strengthen its initiatives, the company has established an expert committee of outside specialists, which is scheduled to finalize specific measures by the end of the fiscal year. In addition, a compliance and whistle-blowing hotline will be established to ensure that the industry as a whole takes these measures seriously.
Looking back at 2023, the new Corona was classified as a Class 5 equivalent in May, and the market has made a significant turnaround to revive the market. In particular, domestic travel and inbound travel (travel to Japan) have recovered significantly and are almost back to their pre-Corona levels. On the other hand, various issues have emerged, such as labor shortages and the emergence of overtourism.
In addition, a new Basic Plan for the Promotion of Tourism Nation has been approved by the Cabinet, and a policy package aiming at recovery of outbound (overseas travel) has been formulated, as two-way exchanges are necessary to give further impetus to inbound travel.
Against this backdrop, in May, the Company and the Japan Tourism Agency jointly announced the “Now is the Time to Travel Abroad,” in an effort to boost momentum for overseas travel! Travel Declaration” jointly with the Japan Tourism Agency in May. The campaign to subsidize the cost of obtaining a passport was particularly well received, and we believe it had a certain effect in building momentum. However, a full-fledged recovery in demand for overseas travel has yet to be achieved.
In terms of events, the Adventure Travel World Summit was held in Hokkaido in September, with more than 700 participants from around the world. The potential of each region of Japan has been recognized through inspection tours and other events, and there are high expectations for the future as a new market.
In October, Tourism Expo Japan 2024 was held in Osaka for the first time in four years, attracting nearly 150,000 visitors over four days, surpassing the attendance in Tokyo in 2022 (approximately 120,000). In addition to communicating the shape of future travel and the appeal of new travel destinations, the EXPO was able to play a certain role as a link to the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025.
As for the current state of the travel market, for domestic travel, the amount handled by JATA’s major travel agencies has recovered to more than 90% of the 2019 level. As for inbound travel, while Chinese group tours have not recovered, the number of foreign arrivals in October was approximately 2.51 million, exceeding the same month in 2019 for the first time since Corona, and is expected to be around 25 million for the year.
Overseas travel, on the other hand, saw approximately 940,000 Japanese departing the country in October, only 60% of the 2019 level. One positive sign is that demand for overseas group travel, especially from corporations, is becoming more active. For example, companies that celebrated the anniversary of their founding in the Corona Disaster are trying to conduct company trips that could not be conducted, and some companies that had stopped offering incentives are reviving them. We would like to create a trend that moves from overseas group travel to impact individuals as well.
If these stimulations continue, we may see a path to approaching pre-corona levels by the end of this fiscal year.
We would like to position this year as the first year for the revival of travel. There are two issues to be addressed: one is the revival of overseas travel, and the other is the tourism that the travel industry is aiming for.
Overseas travel has been slow to recover, negatively impacted by the weak yen as well as rising airfare and hotel costs. Another factor is that seats on international flights departing from Japan are being used for inbound (return) travel, making them difficult to secure. In order to ensure a two-way balance, it is essential for Japanese people to recover their overseas travel.
This year marks the special 60th anniversary of the liberalization of overseas travel in 1964. We would like to do our utmost to ensure that overseas travel is fully restored on this milestone.
Another point regarding the tourism that the travel industry is aiming for is that after the Corona Disaster, the environment has changed dramatically, with suppliers increasingly selling directly to customers, and business models are being forced to change as well. Travel agencies are required to add more value to their products and services. We believe that travel agencies need to demonstrate their value by offering new encounters and experiences, places that cannot be visited by individuals, and travel with a story to tell.
One example is adventure travel. JATA is working to expand this new market in cooperation with local governments and DMOs, as well as to educate its member companies on specific details and initiatives.
As a prerequisite, the concept of adventure travel needs to be understood. The term “adventure” does not mean a harrowing adventure trip, but rather adventure travel is defined as incorporating two of the three elements of nature, culture, and activities. In order to develop adventure travel in earnest, it is important to secure and train guides, who must be well versed in nature, culture, and activities, and it can be said that adventure tourism depends on guides.
The first challenge facing the industry is the shortage of labor. Overtourism has resurfaced due to the rapid recovery in travel since last year. In some cases, hotels are unable to provide rooms due to a lack of employees, even when there are vacancies. The charter bus industry is facing a serious labor shortage, as there are not enough drivers and regulations on working hours are becoming stricter (the 2024 problem).
DX productivity improvements are also indispensable to address labor shortages. It is not uncommon for tourist facilities to sell and tear off paper tickets with cash, and to have no appropriate admission restrictions in place. The challenge for the future is how to compensate for the shortage of manpower with the power of digital technology, including the shift to ticketless and contactless services.
In addition, JATA has been operating a fully functional common platform for the tourism industry since December, and has begun efforts to save labor for lodging facilities and travel agencies. The platform also allows for rapid information sharing in times of emergency, and was put into actual operation following the recent Noto Peninsula earthquake. To date, 5,000 lodging facilities have registered, and the company hopes to increase the number to around 7,000 in the near future.
The third point is about reforming the way people take vacations. The number of overnight trips by Japanese people in FY2019 is very low, at 1.3 times per year, and the average number of days is 2.3 days. Furthermore, the paid vacation rate among Japanese is around 60%, falling short of the 80-90% rate in Europe and the U.S. and the government’s target of 70%.
JATA will also develop new measures to stimulate domestic travel demand and promote the dispersion and equalization of travel demand to weekdays. JATA will develop new measures to stimulate domestic travel demand and further promote the dispersion and equalization of travel demand to weekdays.
© Source travel watch
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.