The latest JTB Tourism Research & Consulting’s survey on relation between usage of smartphone and travel consumption in Japan finds that generative AI is rapidly used as a method in gathering travel information, and communication method has been shifting from words to images.
‘Unedited everyday life’ app is gradually getting popular
Regarding the most frequently used functions on smartphones, communication methods such as "messaging/chat" and "email" decreased, while video and image sharing sites, TV/movies and other visual content increased. As for information search methods, "generative AI" tripled from 9.7% in 2024 to 28.8%.
Regarding news media used, all options, including online news, are decreasing, with "not reading" on the rise. JTB Tourism Research & Consulting analyzed, "When it comes to information search methods, the number of people who 'don't search for information themselves' is increasing, and an idea to be provided information automatically without searching it is becoming even stronger.”
Changes are also seen in usage trends for social media, an important touchpoint for travel. While LINE and YouTube remain the top two overall, Instagram has surpassed X (formerly Twitter) to take third place. Instagram's photo and video-based appeal is particularly strong among women. "BeReal.", a service that allows users to share unedited daily life, is also growing slightly, with usage exceeding 10% among women under the age of 29.
JTB総研 発表資料より
e-sports can be a new commercial opportunity
The survey also asked about increasing things or decreasing things compared to three years ago. Answers of ‘increasing things’ were much more answers of ‘decreasing things’ in ‘shopping without using cash.’ Answers of ‘increasing things’ in ‘telework in a travel destination,’ ‘working at a shore office or co-working space’ and ‘working at home’ decreased.
The survey results also finds that e-sports has much more attentions than before. Among men under the age of 29, about half have experience playing or watching a game, and they also expressed a strong desire to ‘go to the venue.’
Men under the age of 29 in particular favored ‘e-sports teams and professional gamers (30.2%)’ and ‘companies that are focusing on e-sports (19.8%),’
JTB総研 発表資料より
The usage rate of AI is up 10 points
The rate of experience using AI services reached 58.7%, up approximately 10 points from 49.0% the previous year. AI services are increasingly being incorporated into everyday life , such as interpretation/translation, image search, and ChatGPT.
The top three ways people would like to use AI while traveling were ‘restaurant information search (29.6%),’ followed by ‘language translation (25.1%)’ and ‘itinerary/route suggestions (24.7%).’ Women in their 30s, 40s, and 60s showed particularly high preference for restaurant search.
In terms of the intention to use unmanned services, services that can simplify procedures, such as ‘automated checkout (32%)’ and ‘automated immigration inspection (19.0%),’ were more requested than value-added services.
