News
A new settlement service debuts for accommodations in Japan to receive payment from global OTA more quickly and automatically
New BtoB settlement service in linkage with ‘TEMAIRAZU,’ a platform for an accommodation to manage bookings from multiple global OTAs, enables an OTA to send money to an accommodation, using Mastercard’s VCN.
Japanese domestic travel consumption was up 6% to 27 trillion yen in 2025 despite a reduction in Q4
The total amount of Japanese domestic travel consumption was up 6% year on year to 26.8 trillion yen in 2025. Travel spending a travel per traveler was up 3.8% to 48,359 yen.
JTB and Mitsubishi Electric work together to promote autonomous driving services in a tourist destination from dispatch to operation
JTB and Mitsubishi Electric work together to promote autonomous driving services in order to solve shortage of workforces and to activate local economy in a tourist destination.
Japanese international travelers were up 17.6% year on year to 1.07 million in January 2026
The number of Japanese international travelers in January 2026 was up 17.6% year on year to 1,072,600, higher growth rate than 9.6% in the previous month.
International arrivals in Japan declined for the first time in four years in January 2026
The number of international arrivals in Japan in January 2026 was down 4.9% year on year to 3,597,500, declining for the first time in four years since January 2022.
Korean Air will considerably extend flight networks to local cities in Japan in this summer
Korean Air will considerably extend flight networks to local cities in Japan in this summer schedule, on the Seoul Incheon-Komatsu, -Aomori, -Okayama and --Niigata route routes.
A tourism finance lawyer explains what is going on an accommodation tax in Japan, citing that Kyoto City collects 10,000 yen a night at a maximum
Takahiro Ikeji, tourism finance lawyer and senior researcher of Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, explained what is going on an accommodation tax in Japan.a A fixed tax system or a flat rate system?
JAL and JR East are working together to create new-typed wide area travels with air and Shinkansen
JAL and JR East are working together to create new-typed wide area travels and to support travelers with connected minds with local areas and to explore new markets, going beyond the conventional transportation frameworks.
Online shopping spending to travel by Japanese households with two or more people was down 4.2% compared to the previous year
Online shopping spending to ‘travel’ was down 4.2% to 5,116 yen in December 2025 The nominal contribution rate, which indicates the impact on overall changes, was -0.72%, dragging down overall growth.
Japanese major digital wallet service ‘PayPay’ forms a partnership with Visa for cross-border payment both in Japan and globally
Japanese major digital wallet service ‘PayPay’ signed a strategic partnership with Visa to build a global PayPay ecosystem. The first global market will be U.S.
Mitsubishi Estate enters the apartment hotel business, planning to open 10 properties by 2030 including the first one in Tsukiji, Tokyo
Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsubishi Estate Hotels & Resort launched a new brand ‘WAYPOINT’ to meet long-stay needs. The first ‘WAYPOINT TSUKIJI TOKYO’ will open on April 1 2026.
Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium expands sales channels for international guests in partnership with Linktivity
Linktivity, an e-ticket platform of Japan, has extended its sales network for Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium to allows global OTAs to sell the tickets to their users.
Yahoo! Search supports a traveler with a new AI assistant function to recommend spots in a destination
LINE Yahoo has begun providing a new AI function to recommend spots in a destination on ‘AI Assistant.' 46% felt a time-consuming burden on finding tourist spots in planning a travel.
JTB acquires an exclusive right to sell tours with ‘Rugby World Cup 2027’ tickets as only an official agent in Japan
JTB will tours with ‘Rugby World Cup 2027 (RWC2027)’ tickets as only an official agent in Japan, creating and sell exclusive tours combined RWC tickets with accommodations and excursions in Australia.
NAVITIME JAPAN, a navigation app provider, launches a generative AI-based tourism guide service for local governments or DMOs
NAVITIME JAPAN has begun offering a generative AI-based tourism guide solution exclusively for local governments, DMOs or tourism operators. AI automatically answers queries from travelers instead of staff.
JR EAST a railway company of Japan, offers a new pass for international visitors to use all lines in JR EAST area
JR EAST, a railway company of Japan, will begin offering a new railway pass ‘JR EAST PASS’ for international visitors to use all lines in JR EAST area and part of private railways.
Trends in gathering travel information are structurally changing in Japan with three times more AI users
The latest JTB Tourism Research & Consulting’s survey finds generative AI is rapidly used as a method in gathering travel information, and communication method has been shifting from words to images.
What are recent Japanese overseas traveler trends? From stronger luxury movement to AI analysis of customer behavior
Skyscanner and HIS talked about the recent Japanese overseas traveler trends based on their data. Skyscanner introduced a logical travel as a new travel style to maximize cost performance.
Japan's inbound travel market in 2025 saw a 14% increase in international visitors to regional areas, while the share of Chinese travelers declined to 21%
Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) recognizes that an increase in international travelers to local areas and diversification of source markets have certainly been progressing, looking back 2025
Cherry blossom is expected to begin blooming in Tokyo and Fukuoka on March 21
According to Weather News' second cherry blossom blooming forecast, booming is expected to begin in Tokyo and in Fukuoka on March 21.
