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The number of Japanese travelers booking on smart phones doubled during the past four years

The number of Japanese travelers booking on smart phones doubled during the past four years

The latest JTB Tourism Research & Consulting survey on the relation between smart phones and travel consumption reveals that the ratios of ‘I went to a place I found on SNS (18.3%)’ and ‘I bought goods I knew on SNS (16.9%)’ have gradually increased since 2015. Consequently, the use of SNS appears as a real opportunity to stimulate consumption.

Instagram is the biggest opportunity related to going out or buying goods, followed by Twitter.

The graph below shows user behaviors on SNS:

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The graph below shows user behaviors by SNS:

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Regarding travel consumption, the ratio of bookings or purchases of travel products on smart phones doubled between 2013 (19.4%) and 2017 (45.2%). Growth is visible for three consecutive years regarding accommodation (up to a share of 25%), tours in Japan (share: 14.0%) and air tickets (share: 10.5%).

The major reasons for not using smart phones are ‘It is inconvenient to input information in a smart phone’ and ‘I am uncomfortable buying expensive products on a smart phone.’

JTB Tourism Research & Consulting said that the major reasons for not purchasing overseas travel tours using a smart phone are an increase in FIT or dynamic package travelers and cumbersome inputs such as passport information.

The graph below compares the booking/purchase of travel products using smart phones:

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The graph below compares the reasons for not using smart phones to book or purchase travel products:

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A screening survey was conducted on 25-26 September 2017, gathering data from 18-69 y.o. men and women in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The main survey targeted 1,030 smart phone users who booked and purchased domestic travel products including day trips using a smart phone during the past 12 months. 

In Japanese