Posted on: Friday, December 24, 2004

Japanese cut back holiday visits

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fewer Japanese will be visiting Hawai'i during the traditional New Year's holiday this year in part because Jan. 1 falls on a Saturday, according to Japanese travel officials.

Reservation forecasts for Japan Airlines and its subsidiary, JALways, between Dec. 25 and Jan. 6 show 47,025 bookings to Hawai'i, an 8.4 percent decrease over the same period last year.

Meanwhile, a survey by Japanese travel agency JTB showed about 62,000 Japanese visitors are expected here between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, down from 73,000 the year before. Hawai'i fell from the second top Japanese destination last year to the No. 4 spot this year, behind Korea, China and Europe.

The drop is mainly because the New Year's holiday falls on a weekend, making shorter trips more popular, said Yujiro Kuwabara, general manager in customer service for JTB in Hawai'i. Japanese travelers traditionally take off between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3 and combine those days with weekends to make longer trips, he said.

Kuwabara also said Korea has become more popular among Japanese travelers because of the South Korean soap opera, "Winter Sonata."

"The calendar is not favorable to meet long-range destinations," he said. "And the interest among the Japanese is growing for the Korean market and also the China market. And so this year many people are either willing to stay home or (they) like to go to a closer destination."

Gilbert Kimura, director of passenger sales and public relations for Japan Airlines, said the calendar may be a factor, but added that Japanese visitors are increasingly looking at destinations other than Hawai'i.

International bookings overall for the New Year's holiday are up 7.9 percent, Kimura noted.

In terms of total numbers, Hawai'i still has the second highest number of bookings on JAL, behind Southeast Asia's 77,429.

The JAL numbers show that all other major international destinations except for Hawai'i, Europe and Guam and Saipan saw an increase in bookings.

"More and more Japanese going abroad is increasing, but we're not getting our share," Kimura said.

"Hopefully this isn't something that's going to continue. But we really need to take it seriously."

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.