Japan outbound travel at 70%
- Japan’s outbound travel recovery is still incomplete as Golden Week 2026 begins, with Kyodo reporting overseas trips by Japanese residents remain just above 70% of pre-pandemic levels despite a recent pickup. - JTB expects 572,000 outbound travelers during the April 25-May 7 Golden Week period, up 8.5% from a year earlier, while average spending rises to ¥329,000 per person. - Japan’s travel market is now split between soft outbound demand and record inbound traffic of about 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp)
Japanese residents are traveling abroad more than a year ago, but outbound demand is still only a little above 70% of pre-pandemic levels as Golden Week 2026 starts. (qazinform.com) JTB said on April 7 that total Golden Week travel by Japanese residents is expected to rise 1.9% from a year earlier to 24.5 million trips between April 25 and May 7. (travelvoice.jp) Within that total, JTB projects 572,000 outbound travelers, up 8.5% year on year, with average spending climbing 2.2% to ¥329,000 per person. (travelvoice.jp) JTB said the weak yen and higher prices are pushing travelers to hold budgets roughly flat, choose short-haul destinations, and spread trips before or after the holiday to avoid peak fares and crowds. (travelvoice.jp) That helps explain the mismatch in Japan’s travel market: outbound demand is recovering slowly even as inbound tourism has surged far past old records. (qazinform.com) (statistics.jnto.go.jp) Government data released in January showed about 42.7 million foreign visitors came to Japan in 2025, up 16% from a year earlier, while tourist spending reached about ¥9.5 trillion. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Yasushi Kaneko said the 2025 visitor total was the first time Japan cleared 40 million arrivals in a single year. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) JTB said South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia remain the main outbound choices for Golden Week travelers, while demand for North America and Europe is also rising from a smaller base. (travelvoice.jp) Japan National Tourism Organization data defines “Japanese overseas travelers” as Japanese nationals who traveled abroad, and publishes the figures monthly alongside inbound arrival data. (statistics.jnto.go.jp) So the headline for Golden Week 2026 is not a full rebound. Japanese outbound travel is growing again, but the weak yen and higher trip costs are still keeping the market well below 2019. (qazinform.com) (travelvoice.jp)
