Japan Overseas Tour Participants Tumble in 2008

Tokyo, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)--The number of Japanese people who went
overseas in package tours dropped at the fastest pace in five years in 2008,
hit by the economic slowdown and rising airline fuel surcharges.

The number fell 10.5 pct from a year earlier, the steepest decline
since 2003 when the number fell 24.0 pct amid an outbreak of severe acute
respiratory syndrome in Asia, the Japan Association of Travel Agents said
Wednesday.
The data covered seven major Japanese travel agencies.
The number of China-bound travelers plunged 39.5 pct amid food
safety scare involving pesticide-laced frozen dumplings.
The number taking tours to Thailand, which has always been a
popular destination, dived 27.5 pct. Tours to Oceania, including Australia,
showed a 24.8 pct drop, while the number traveling to the United States and
Canada fell 21.4 pct.
By contrast, the number of participants on tours in South Korea
grew 24.6 pct, supported by the won's depreciation against the yen. In
December alone, the figure jumped 88.8 pct from a year before.
As of early January, reservations for South Korea-bound tours were
up 2.1-fold in January, 3.6-fold in February and 3.4-fold in March in terms
of the number of participants.