Travel Sectors
Japanese OTA Rakuten Travel adds a accommodation booking function in ‘Rakuten AI’
Rakuten Travel, a major Japanese OTA, added a new accommodation booking function in ‘Rakuten AI,’ supported seamlessly from suggestion to booking.
Japan’s VELTRA Cruise provides Yomiuri Travel with a cruise booking system as a BtoB partnership
VELTRA Cruise, a BtoB cruise booking system provided by VELTRA, an activity booking platform, links with Yomiuri Travel Service’s booking system.
Gastronomic City Award 2026 selects four cities in Japan, valuing tourism experiences based on gastronomy cultures
‘Gastronomic City Award 2026’ selected Yoichi Town in Hokkaido, Hachinohe City in Aomori, Hida City in Gifu and Hita City in Oita.
JR West, a railway company of Japan, will link with the booking systems of ANA and JAL to promote wide-area travel by railway and air
JR West signed a partnership agreement with ANA and JAL each to jointly develop wide-area travel service combined by railway and air to build a seamless booking system of railway and air to raise experience values of users.
JAL enables boarding and transfers using only facial recognition, linked with individual information on smartphones
JAL and Tokyo International Air Terminal (TIAT) demonstrated the next generation boarding experience using digital identity, using facial recognition, from boarding to transfer.
Hilton will open luxury brand ‘LXR’ in Hakone Gora area in the summer 2028
Hilton will open its luxury brand ‘LXR Hotels & Resorts’ in Hakone Gora area in the summer 2028., as the second LXR brand in Japan, following Kyoto.
International hospitality tech conference ‘HITEC’ will be held in Tokyo in December 2026 for the first time
International hospitality tech conference ‘HITEC TOKYO’ in the first Hospitality Tech EXPO will be held in December 2026 in Tokyo for the first time.
ANA and JAL will raise fuel surcharges by up to two times from May 2026, charging 56,000 yen on U.S. and Europe routes
ANA and JAL Group will raise the fuel surcharges on their international flights departing from May 1 2026, revising their fuel surcharge rules to respond rapid change of market prices.
New rules on usage of mobile battery in a flight cabin was enforced in Japan on April 24 2026
New rules for a passenger to bring mobile battery into a flight cabin was enforced on April 24 2026, following the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) ’s emergency amendment.
JTB acquired a location data analysis company to Internalize processes from problem identification to effectiveness verification
JTB acquired all stocks of Nightley, a location data analysis company to strengthen to use and analyze its customer insight data.
JTB creates motorcycle tours in Japan for luxury international travelers
JTB and MOTO TOURS JAPAN will work together in creating new motorcycle tourism in japan for international travelers.
JAL, JTB and JR East work together for a new tourism model for wide-area tours, combining air and rail
JAL, JTB and JR East are working together for a ‘multi-layered tourism’ initiative in the eastern Japan area, combining multiple modes of transportation, such as rail and air travel.
Japanese travelers for Golden Week 2026 from late April are expected to increase slightly - JTB forecast
JTB has estimated that Japanese travelers for this coming Golden Week period will be up 1.9% to 24.5 million in total, and Japanese outbound travelers are expected to increase by 8.5% year on year to 572,000.
Tourism EXPO Japan 2026 outlines with the theme of ‘The Changing Nature of Travel’ are unveiled
'Tourism EXPO Japan (TEJ) 2026’ will be held with the theme of ‘The Changing Nature of Travel' at Tokyo Big Sight from September 24 to 27. The organizer aims at 180,000 visitors for four days.
Japan-USA Tourism Campaign 2026 is launched celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States
Japan-USA Tourism Campaign 2026 starts in April 2026 to expand two-way tourism between Japan and USA, taking chances of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Two Accor Novotels will open in 2030s in Hakuba, Nagano to meet family traveler needs
Accor will open two Novotel hotels in Hakuba, Nagao Prefecture in 2030s to meet family travelers’ needs from both Japan and foreign countries.
A hotel in Hokkaido installs ‘the Mirai (Future) Human Washing Machine,’ the next generation bath system introduced in Osaka EXPO
ES CON Field Hokkaido Hotel Kitahiroshima Station, operated by SQUEEZE, will install ‘the Mirai (Future) Human Washing Machine,’ which attracted a lot of attentions in the Osaka Kansai EXPO 2025.
Japanese ‘DO (way)’ discipline is redefined as a modern wellness experience for international travelers by, KNT-CT, a major travel agent of Japan
KNT-CT Holdings has started selling Japanese ‘DO (way)’ discipline as modern wellness experiences for international travelers.
Three Mitsui Fudosan’s hotels offer an room key service on Apple Wallet, which also opens keys of facilities in the hotels
Three Mitsui Fudosan’s hotels started offering a room key service using Apple Wallet, which allows a guest to open not only a room but also facilities in the hotels.
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.
