1-1.Japanese Economic Trend (released in May 2009)

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1-2. Number of Japanese Overseas Travelers in April 2009

Japan National Tourist Organization announced that the total number of Japanese overseas travelers in April 2009 was 1,196,000, a 1.1% increase over April 2008.
For April, an increase in Japanese visitor arrival is seen with Korea (+54.0%), accelerated by depreciation of Korean Won against Japanese Yen, Macau (+0.5%), and Hawaii (+8.8%). A continuous decrease was seen in the Japanese arrival to Canada (-14.1%), Australia (-11.2%), New Zealand (-15.7%), and some countries in Southeast Asia; Hong Kong (-13.0%), Singapore (-12.9%). Swine flue (H1N1) did not influence the April figures but is expected to be reflected on Japanese international traffic in May and after.

Narita International Airport reported that the number of Japanese departures in April 2009 was 639,254 down 1.4% from the same month of the year before. Kansai International Airport recorded 245,368, (-1.4%), and Central Japan International Airport 129,594, (-5.9%).

Number of Japanese Overseas Travelers by Destinations January 2008 to April 2009

**nges % = vs. the same month of the year before
*Figures not available
Source: Japan Tourism Marketing Co, and JNTO

Number of Japanese Overseas Travelers by Departure Airport (Mar. 2009）

1-3. Number of Inbound Travelers in April 2009

According to the JNTO, the number of international visitors for April 2009 was 626,600, a 19.7% fall from the same period of the previous year, largely due to financial crises and the depreciation of major foreign currencies against JPY. An increase of tourist arrival was seen with European and Hong Kong markets where the tourist traffic was largely affected by the shift of Easter vacation to April. From Korea, visitor arrival to Japan was down 44.4% from April 2008, Taiwan 35.2%, Singapore 11.3%, and Thailand 18.0%. The recent depreciation of KRW against JPY remains to be a discouraging factor for Koreans to visit Japan.

Number of Inbound Travelers by Destinations December 2008 to April 2009

Source: JNTO

1-4. Gross Sales of Major Companies (Outbound Travel Products)

Gross sales in outbound travel of the top 50 travel companies were approximately 148 billion JPY in April 2009. It has decreased by 18.4% from the same month of the previous year. Gross sales of outbound package tours in April 2009 were 49.4 billion JPY, decreased by 5.5% from the year ago, while total number of tourists on package tours increased by 16.9%.

Chart 1: Major Wholesalers Sales (Mar. 2009)

KNT: Kinki Nippon Tourist, NTA: Nippon Travel Agency, HEI: Hankyu Express International,
TOP: Toptour Corporation (formerly Tokyu Tourist Corporation)

Chart 2: Gross Sales of the Top 50 Travel Companies　 (Mar. 2009)

Chart3: Gross Sales of Package Tours 　(Mar. 2009)

Chart4: Per Person Sales　 (Mar. 2009)