U.S. Mainland hurting for Japanese travelers

Advertiser News Services

Japanese demand for travel to the U.S. Mainland is taking longer than expected to recover after September's terrorist attacks, and year-on-year declines may not end until later in 2002, a travel industry group said.

"Demand for travel to Hawai'i and Guam are at about 85 percent of last year's levels but demand to the Mainland won't recover for another six months," said Jun Ishiyama, director and secretary-general for the Japan Association of Travel Agents.

The group had earlier forecast a recovery by July or August, he said.

Travel agents are betting that Japan's appetite for international travel in general will return by early May, when many Japanese take advantage of a string of national holidays to travel.

Lingering safety worries and a cheaper yen mean Japanese travelers may overlook the U.S. Mainland when making plans.

"It's not just safety," said Ishiyama. "Now the yen is much lower, so the Japanese want to go to cheaper places."

Japan Airlines Co. in January cut a quarter of its flights to the United States, though the airline plans to restore a third daily flight to Hawai'i soon. The carrier plans to increase the number of flights to Asian destinations by 20 percent.