Market – Japan

The ST Japan team is made up of 3 full-time employees working out of the Tokyo office (shared space with the Embassy Of Switzerland). 

	Masayo Oshio, Media & Social Media Manager
Contact	+81 3 4578 9092 masayo.oshio@switzerland.com

	Shiho Kawanobe, Marketing Coordinator
Contact	+81 3 4578 9096 shiho.kawanobe@switzerland.com

	Yuko Makino, Digital Content Manager APAC
Contact	+81 3 4578 9095 yuko.makino@switzerland.com

• ST market research page –– here
• ST Research Report 2024 –– Download here
• ST TMS 2023 –– Download here

Click here for an overview slide for each finalized activity that took place in 2024.

Outbound tourism is on a gradual recovery, with Switzerland still being one of the most sought after and strongest selling destination in Europe (according to a 2024 JTB report on outbound travel, Switzerland was the 4th most visited country in Europe, after France, Italy and Germany, with the latter benefiting more from business travels compared to the others). Exchange rate (Yen is still on a all-time-low), remains the biggest challenge. Flight capacity to Europe is increasing (among others, ANA has launched in December 2024 a new direct flight Tokyo – Milan), but remains below pre-pandemic level. The Travel Trade is registering positive signs, with bookings for 2025 nearing the 2019-level. The luxury and millennials markets are recovering the quickest in Japan. 2024 was the first full operational year, as Covid restrictions in Japan were fully lifted only in May 2023 and the incentive to promote domestic travel provided by the Japanese Government stopped at the end of 2023.
The current geopolitical turmoils are worrying the Japanese traveler (which result also in the rerouting of the flights, making them longer). Inbound travel to Japan is reaching record highs, reducing the capacity on outbound flights at an early stage.

In US Dollar terms, Japan has lost its status as the third-largest economy, given continued and significant depreciation of the Yen, however, it still remains one of the strongest in the world. In its latest biannual GDP projection, the government has set the growth for the current fiscal year ending March 2025 to 0.9%. In 2024, inflation rose to 3.6%. Even in light of a significant depreciation of the Yen, the Bank of Japan has maintained its loose monetary policy.
Under the new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (who took office on October 1st, 2024), the government continues to see wage hikes above inflation as the critical key towards sustainable growth in the era of price increases. Its urging of business executives and labor unions to increase worker salaries appear to be yielding results, as a yearly release by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) shows that average wages rose nominally 4.1% in 2024, the most ever since comparable methodology began to be used in 1999. Ishiba has also pledged to achieve an hourly national minimum wage average of $9.91 (JPY 1’500) before 2030, 43% above of 2024 figure of $6.94.
The Ministry of Finance also revealed that four rounds of foreign exchange interventions had occurred in spring and summer 2024 to halt the Japanese yen’s decline. Prior to these interventions, as well as the ones in 2022, no such action had occurred since 1998. The yen was trading at as low as 161.59 against the dollar on 10 July before it strengthened to as high as 140.79 in 16 September. It has since then resumed some depreciation. In terms of the Swiss franc, a similar pattern is evident with the yen trading at almost 180 against the Swiss franc on 11 July before strengthening to as high as 165.7 on 13 September.
Japan has significantly expanded its network of free trade agreements. In a shift in
foreign economic policy priorities, it increasingly coordinates with like-minded partners and seeks to shape standards in fields such as economic security, supply chain resilience or digital and green economy. It continues to proactively promote exports of agricultural products and infrastructure, and attract investments.

Although it is a mature market, Japan still heavily relies on the travel trade when booking their holiday arrangements, be it for a language reason, its demographic, the need of reassurance or because of the amount of information and details the travelers need, Japanese very much like consulting travel agencies and tour operators. However, reports are showing that especially the younger audiences are more and more booking individually and online.
Inbound tourism to Japan has reached record levels, which resulted in rapid increase of prices for accommodation all over the country, this could lead to a narrower price gap between domestic and international travel, element that could help slightly mitigate the weak Yen and make outbound travel not seem so expensive anymore.
Key trends in the travel industry in 2025:
▪ FIT travel is on the rise while group travel remains important although the groups are getting smaller
▪ Young people (especially women in their 20s) are leading the demand for outbound leisure travel
▪ Increased interest in luxury travel with personalized itineraries
▪ Autumn and winter travel are expected to gain market share.
▪ Increase in importance of OTA compared to classic travel agents is expected

The Japanese market, when looking at the bigger picture, is still leaning more towards group travel (although the groups are becoming smaller and FIT is on the rise), the reasons for this is also because Japanese like reassurance and they feel more at ease if there are other compatriots traveling with them. Additionally, language is often a barrier, therefore they like to know that on their travels they have the opportunity to speak their language and there is always someone available to clarify any issues or unexpected events.
Japanese are very polite, respectful and punctual, making them some of the best guests a destination can have.
The Japanese traveler is very much influenced by safety, cleanliness and convenience.

ST Japan focuses primarily on the personas Max, Quinn and Kris. Find more information about the personas here.