Japan travel gets pricier
- Domestic demand looks softer for Golden Week as many households scale back trips and spending. (japantimes.co.jp) - A survey found the average Golden Week budget fell to ¥27,660 and 40% of respondents have no holiday plans. (japantimes.co.jp) - At the same time, Japan Airlines will raise fuel surcharges 91%–117% from May 1 and ANA is also sharply hiking international surcharges. ( )
Golden Week travel in Japan is getting more expensive just as households say they have less money to spend. (jiji.com) A survey by research company Intage found the average budget for the holiday period at ¥27,660, down 5.4% from ¥29,237 a year earlier. The online poll, conducted in late March, collected 5,000 valid responses from people ages 15 to 79 across Japan. (jiji.com) Intage said 41.2% of respondents had no plans for the April 25 to May 6 break, up 4.7 points from last year. Domestic travel was cited by 12.3%, while overseas travel was just 1.0%. (jiji.com) Japan Airlines said on April 20 that it will raise international fuel surcharges for tickets bought between May 1 and June 30, 2026, after February-March jet fuel averaged $146.99 a barrel. The carrier said the average exchange rate during that period was ¥156.99 to the dollar. (press.jal.co.jp) All Nippon Airways updated its surcharge table on April 20 and listed a ¥56,000 fuel surcharge per passenger, per flight for Japan-Europe, North America except Hawaii, the Middle East and Oceania on itineraries originating in Japan. For itineraries originating outside Japan, ANA listed the same long-haul surcharge at $386 per passenger, per flight. (ana.co.jp) Japan Airlines said its May-June surcharge would normally have fallen into a higher pricing band, but a Japanese government subsidy tied to emergency measures on Middle East fuel costs pulled it down one zone. ANA also said its May-June surcharge was adjusted under the same government mitigation measures. (press.jal.co.jp, ana.co.jp) The domestic picture is not simply fewer trips. JTB estimated 23.9 million people will travel inside Japan during the broader April 25 to May 7 period, up 1.7% from a year earlier and nearly back to the 24.0 million seen in 2019. (nippon.com) But JTB also projected average domestic travel spending per person at ¥46,000, down 2.1% from last year, with more travelers choosing one-night, two-day trips and fewer extending to three nights and four days. The company said answers about “modest” travel overtook “lavish” travel this year. (nippon.com) Intage found 49.2% of people who cut their holiday budgets cited high prices and the weak yen, while 19.6% said tensions involving Iran were making them keep plans and spending restrained. That leaves Japan heading into Golden Week with more people still moving around, but with tighter budgets and pricier flights. (jiji.com)
