Japanese spring travel numbers down

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Japanese outbound travel in the traditional spring honeymoon season is down by 4.6% on 2001 according to figures just released by Japan Travel Bureau (JTB). The JTB spring survey is carried out every year and measures couples booking honeymoons with JTB's main offices. Honeymooners and overseas weddings are considered a particularly lucrative traveller segment because of their high spending.

Nevertheless bookings have recovered following the autumn honeymoon season when numbers dropped by over 40% following September 11. Average tour price spending also increased to $3,669 per couple, an increase of 10.4% on 2001, and $3,526 per couple in the case of domestic bookings.

Most popular destinations for honeymoon bookings were Hawaii, followed by Australia and Europe. Bookings to the US mainland were down 12.3%, as Guam/Saipan and South Pacific islands increased their share. Figures for overseas wedding groups declined by about 20%.