JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese travelers in 2026 is expected to reduce by 2.0% year on year to 323 million in total, and the number of international travelers to Japan to reduce by 2.8% to 41.4 million. JTB sees that Japanese domestic travelers will reduce, but Japanese international travelers slightly increase, and the average travel cost will increase due to rises in prices and accommodation fees.
Domestic travel consumption is expected to be unchanged
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese domestic travelers will be down 2.2% to 307 million, and travel cost per capita up 2.9% to 52,900 yen. The total travel consumption is expected to be up 0.6% to 16.2 trillion yen, unchanged from the previous year.
According to a JTB survey, the highest percentage of people taking domestic trips was women in their 70s (79.2%), followed by women in their 40s (77.8%), women under 29 years old (77.7%), and men under 29 years old (77.0%), with a relatively higher proportion of women taking domestic trips.
Regarding reasons to decide a destination, the most answers were found in ‘places where you can enjoy nature (national parks, flower fields, etc.)’ at 30%, followed by ‘historical spots such as temples, shrines, and historic sites’ at 24.1%.
When asked about travel destinations they are currently considering, the most popular destination was ‘Chubu (33.7%),’ followed by ‘Kyushu/Okinawa (31.9%)’ and ‘Kanto (29.8%),’ which were roughly the same as last year. The number of people planning to travel to ‘Kinki (22.8%)’ decreased slightly, reversing positions to ‘Hokkaido (24.6%).’
Recovery of international travel may slow down
JTB has forecasted that the number of Japanese international travelers will be up 2.6% to 15.5 million, and travel cost per capita up 4.5% to 317,200 yen. The total travel consumption is expected to be up 7.4% to 4.9 trillion yen.
According to a JTB survey, 23% answered that they will go abroad for more than one night in 2026, 2.0% more than the previous year. By sex and age, the highest percentage of the answers was found in women under 29 years old (35.9%), followed by men under 29 years old (30.9%). 77% said that they will not go abroad in 2026 for economic reasons.
When asked about travel destinations they are currently considering, the most popular destination was ‘South Korea (26.7%),’ followed by ‘Taiwan (21.0%).’ Also, the popularity of long-haul destinations, such as ‘Europe (18.7%)’ or ‘Hawaii (18.1%),’ is recovering.
