Tourist Numbers Way Down

[tripitaka 0]

J@pan Inc Newsletter

The 'JIN' J@pan Inc Newsletter

A weekly opinion piece on social, economic and political trends

in Japan.

Issue No. 491 Wednesday November 19, 2008, Tokyo

 

As the winter sets in and thoughts turn to either staying inside(onsen) or going outside (skiing), tourism operators in Japan must be looking at the strength of the yen with dismay. Some of them anyway, a recent survey was widely reported, stating that 70 percent of Japanese inn operators weren't interested in having foreign tourists. This was

probably due to the fact that most did well enough from domestic tradeor simply were uninterested in learning another language rather thanany more xenophobic reasons, as some commentators said.

 

But for Japanese operators geared towards foreign tourists, such as those inTokyo and Hokkaido, the yen is looking increasingly scary. According to reports the number of foreign tourists in September was already down 7 percent compared to the same time last year. Not since avian flu hit Asia, has Japan seen such a large percentage drop. Areport carried in the Hokkaido Shimbun and quoted in the Japan Times

said that most of the drop came from a loss of visitors from Korea and Taiwan.

 

Bookings at Niseko in Hokkaido are also down as the Australian

dollar continues to flounder. This morning it was worth about 62 yen.Remember that a few months back it was up past 100yen. Australian surfers are probably looking at breaks off Indonesia for their holidays now instead of swapping their surfboards for snowboards and heading to Hokkaido.

 

On October 1, the Japanese Tourism Agency (JTA) was created to boostthe number of foreign visitors to Japan. The agency, which set the ambitious goal of attracting 10 million visitors a year and 4.3trillion yen by 2010, has got off to a rocky start. Considering that last year 8 million people visited Japan spending 1.6 trillion yen, the agency has a lot of work ahead of it.

 

US tourists will also be looking elsewhere with currencies around the world plunging against the dollar. Today the dollar was worth 96 yen. Most analysts agree that the yen will remain strong or even strengthen while some are predicting the dollar will take a substantial dive down the track. So Europe and other cheaper destinations will be looking more and more attractive for those Americans who didn't lose their

houses in the subprime mess or the resulting disaster on Wall Street.

 

But Asia is the real market for Japanese tourism. Increasingly thestreets of Ginza have been crowded with cashed-up Chinese from the mainland keen to buy everything in their path. It has been reportedthat Chinese are bigger spenders than Japanese when it comes to the luxury goods that fill Ginza's flagship stores. As long as the yuan, struggles against the yen, Chinese tourists will be looking to more affordable locations in Asia or possibly Australia or Europe.

 

A recent Japan Times report mentioned that other factors than simplythe strength of the yen will also impact on tourism here. The JTA has so far been promoting tourism ambassadors such as Hello Kitty but a fundamental flaw in coordination between operators in Japan means thatthe nation remains behind other Asian nations who have spent decadeshoning their industries. For a nation that struggles in its grasp of

English, this can make travel for the average tourist more difficultthan other destinations. While the challenge of navigating a country using foreign phrases can in itself be attractive to the more intrepid tourist, your average mum and dad and two kids from Wisconsin may be turned off by this.

 

Of course the strong yen will have an exponentially larger impact onthe economy via industries such as manufacturing, but let's rememberthat there will be a lot of tourism operators out there feeling the pinch this winter too.

 

Michael Condon

Editor-in-chief

[foreversnow 5]

Very interesting article. I wonder though how bad the ski resorts will be affected because most people are booked and paid up. Other people seem to still be booking to come.

 

I feel the real impact will be 2010 when the recession really starts hitting people.

[JA2340 16]

Agree, snowhunter.

 

As I've said before, we're paid and ready to go, it just will take longer to pay for it and may put the kybosh on next season's slide (unless the yen drops a heap in value real soon!).

[scouser 4]

tripitaka, you like this subject don't you?

 

I'm wondering just how many more times the BBC can have a headline "...increasing fears of recession". Aren't we there yet?

[Go Native 70]

Originally Posted By: scouser

tripitaka, you like this subject don't you?

I'm wondering just how many more times the BBC can have a headline "...increasing fears of recession". Aren't we there yet?

Scouser of course we are but the media just has to make sure that the fear continues to increase. Recessions just aren't as much fun if people aren't afraid!

[foreversnow 5]

I agree I think we have been in recession for the last 3 weeks but if the media keep putting fear into people they will get more headlines and news.

[NoFakie 45]

On the bright side, oil is under $50 now and Japanese demand for trips to Europe and Australia will also increase now the yen is strong. Both should lead to cheaper flights to/from Japan.

 

We paid 130,000 for KLM open-jaw Narita/London + Newcastle/Narita in October (low season). In UK pounds, that's nearly one thousand now! Its far too much.

 

As for the Japanese government and its tourist target, that is dead in the water already. Its typical politicians though, set some vague target or quota just to be seen to be doing something.

 

I don't think this will affect the ski hills so much as most of their visitors are Japanese. Accom for overseas skiers may have a reality check though.

[stemik 14]

good point Mr W

With the oil prices down we might see more Japanese skiers this coming season