Japan sees rise in Golden Week overseas travel as people rush to book before prices climb

TOKYO -- Passenger trends compiled by major travel agencies in Japan have shown that the number of people booking overseas package tours and airline tickets for Japan's Golden Week holiday period from late April to early May has risen across the board from a year earlier.

As crude oil supplies are becoming unstable due to tensions in the Middle East, airlines are raising the fuel surcharge added to international fares. Some also fear that the weak yen and high prices will progress even further, and the growing bookings are in part attributed to last-minute demand before travel costs climb.

Rise in overseas travel bookings

The Golden Week period contains several public holidays, and by taking the weekdays in between off, some people may be able to enjoy about 10 consecutive vacation days. According to major travel agency H.I.S. Co., the number of people booking its overseas travel products, including package tours and airline tickets, jumped 26.7% from a year earlier. The average price per booking also rose 4.3% to 218,400 yen (about $1,370), and the company says travel to distant destinations that had slumped during the coronavirus pandemic is recovering.

Hankyu Travel International Co. also saw a 10% increase from the previous year in the number of people booking overseas package tours.

An online survey by JTB Corp. of people planning to travel during Golden Week showed a similar trend, and the company estimated that the number of overseas travelers during the holiday period would rise 8.55% from a year earlier to 572,000.

Moves to raise fuel surcharges

At the same time, developments in the Middle East are a source of concern for travel companies.

As tensions rise over the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for crude oil transport, some foreign airlines, including Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., have already sharply raised fuel surcharges.

The impact has also spread to Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. On April 20, both carriers announced that they would raise fuel surcharges starting May 1. Under the previous calculation schedule, which was revised every two months, the increase had been expected to take effect with tickets issued in June and July. But the airlines decided to move up the increase by one month, raising surcharges by about 1.5 to 2 times their previous levels.

For overseas tours that have already been sold with fuel surcharges included, the policy is not to seek additional payments from customers even if surcharges are raised. But for overseas package tours to be sold from now on, prices could increase depending on fuel surcharge levels.

'I want to travel while I still can'

In JTB's survey, the share of people who said, "Depreciation of the yen and rising prices may advance even further from next year onward, so I want to travel while I still can," rose 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier -- the biggest increase among survey responses.

A JTB representative said, "The increase in travelers during Golden Week is partly due to the favorable placement of holidays, but there may also be an element of last-minute demand. At this point, there has not been a major impact on overseas tours, but we need to keep a close watch on developments in the Middle East."

(Japanese original by Hitoshi Kurasawa, Digital News Group)