Golden Week holiday travel aspirations down in Japan amid crowding, high prices: JTB poll
In the poll, which targeted 10,000 people, just 20.9% of respondents said they would "go" or "probably go" on a trip during this year's Golden Week period from April 25 to May 7 -- down 5.6 percentage points compared to the previous year.
The most common reason for not going, with multiple answers permitted, was "because it will be crowded," cited by 45.9% -- down 1.3 points compared to the previous year. However, economic reasons also stood out, with the next most common responses being "because travel costs are high," at 34.6% and "there is no room in the household budget" at 25.9% -- both increasing by 0.9 and 1.9 points, respectively, from 2024.
Looking at the results by age and gender, the survey found the desire to travel had waned across all generations compared to the previous year. The highest rate was among men aged 29 or younger, at 33.9%. This was 6.6 points lower than last year's figure. Among women, the rate of those who wanted to travel was highest among those in the same age group, at 31.5%. Similarly, this figure was down 8.2 points compared to last year.
In a multiple-choice question about their current lives, 25.7% of respondents said they have no leeway in their household finances -- up 1.1 points compared to the previous year. A total of 18.1% said they are "reducing spending on hobbies, travel and the like," up 1.5 points.
JTB commented, "The survey results indicate a tough financial situation for households, clearly showing a trend toward frugality."
(Japanese original by Minhyang Hong, Tokyo Bureau)
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