Here in the United States, international travel is all the rage, including for young people. In many ways that might not even be a good thing — due to the affordability problem that exists, so many young people don’t even view buying a house as realistic, so they don’t bother saving up, and instead, spend money on things that are attainable, like a trip (I’m generalizing here, but broadly, I think it’s accurate).
Along those lines, it’s interesting to hear how Japan Airlines is seemingly facing a very different problem… young people in the carrier’s home country aren’t traveling abroad!
In this post:
Japan Airlines has a travel crisis among young people
Japan Airlines President Mitsuko Tottori has expressed concern about a trend she’s noticing at her airline — young people are moving away from international travel, and are instead choosing to travel domestically. As she explained, “if we don’t get young people to travel abroad, it will have a huge impact on the growth of the Japanese economy.”
Now, I imagine that a major reason for this trend is that the Japanese Yen is incredibly weak, making it very expensive for Japanese people to travel abroad. Even beyond the weak currency, travel overall has become so expensive nowadays, especially in places like the United States, Europe, etc.
As she explained, “prices and the weak yen are definitely involved in this, and as for the weak yen, we are just praying that it will appreciate even a little.” Since taking over at the airline in early 2024, she has viewed this as one of the biggest long term challenges the company faces, and she constantly encourages Japanese travelers to go abroad for their vacations.
The airline has been pursuing a variety of initiatives to encourage international travel among younger locals, including launching the DREAM MILES PASS and JAL Card Skymate program to make it more affordable for young people to travel, and painting an aircraft with a livery featuring Shohei Ohtani.
I’m not sure this travel trend is all bad news
A weak currency is obviously a double-edged sword for airlines — it makes it cheap for foreigners to visit the country, and expensive for locals to travel abroad. While I can understand how this isn’t great for airlines, I’d disagree with the claim that “it will have a huge impact on the growth of the Japanese economy.”
Quite to the contrary, if you have Japanese people traveling domestically, and foreigners traveling to Japan at record numbers, that seems ideal for the economy. Perhaps it’s bad for the airline specifically, but I’m not even sure that’s fully the case, because Japan’s record tourism numbers are probably largely thanks to the weak currency.
There are definitely some markets where the lack of outbound travel is felt the most. For example, Hawaii used to be incredibly popular with Japanese visitors, but between the weak currency, skyrocketing hotel rates in the United States, and the lack of interest among younger generations, that market has seen a brutal decline in demand. I wouldn’t be surprised if that simply doesn’t come back in the long term.
Bottom line
Japan Airlines’ President is concerned by the lack of young locals traveling abroad, and thinks it will have a huge impact on the growth of the Japanese economy. Obviously as an airline leader, you want to stimulate demand as much as possible across the board.
However, it’s pretty clear what’s going on here — with the weak Japanese Yen and the general increase in the cost of travel, going abroad has become unaffordable for many younger people in Japan. While that trend isn’t ideal in general, I’m not sure it’s actually a negative from the perspective of tourism in Japan. Japan is getting domestic tourism dollars from locals, while foreigners are also flocking to the country at record rates.
Anyway, I just found this interesting, given that the situation in Japan couldn’t be more opposite of what we’re seeing in the United States, where young people can’t seem to stay home.
What do you make of the concerns of Japan Airlines’ President?
TAKE FOR EXAMPLE MORE INDIANS ARE TRAVELLING
ON EK QR SQ BA LH SWISS ETC MOSTLY THEY ARE FROM
COMPUTER ENGINEERS SOFTWARE HARDWARE PEOPLE
IN H1B VISA CATEGORIES GOVT OFFICIALS AND INDUSTRIALISTS
(BILLIONNAIRES) ALL THE FOREIGN CURRENCIES ARE GOING TO
FOREIGN COUNTRIES, THUS WEAKENING THE INDIAN CURRENCY
RUPEE (INR) THE RULING PARTY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING
DOMESTICALLY THEY ARE LOOTING MONEY FROM FEDERAL TREASURY
IT IS...
TAKE FOR EXAMPLE MORE INDIANS ARE TRAVELLING
ON EK QR SQ BA LH SWISS ETC MOSTLY THEY ARE FROM
COMPUTER ENGINEERS SOFTWARE HARDWARE PEOPLE
IN H1B VISA CATEGORIES GOVT OFFICIALS AND INDUSTRIALISTS
(BILLIONNAIRES) ALL THE FOREIGN CURRENCIES ARE GOING TO
FOREIGN COUNTRIES, THUS WEAKENING THE INDIAN CURRENCY
RUPEE (INR) THE RULING PARTY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT ANYTHING
DOMESTICALLY THEY ARE LOOTING MONEY FROM FEDERAL TREASURY
IT IS WHY INDIAN RUPEE'S VALUE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKET IS
DEPLETING DAY BY DAY
WHEN I STARTED MY CARRIER IN THE AIRLINE IN 1964 IT WAS
DOLLAR TO RUPEE RATIO WAS rS. 4.50 EQUAL TO ONE DOLLAR
SEE TODAYS EXCHANGE RATE IS 92.00 IT IS FLUCTUATING EVERY DAY
LIKE STOCK MARKETS. IT IS DUE TO RAMPANT CORRUPTIONS BY
RULING PARTY MEN MINISTERS INDUSTRIALISTS BORROWERS FROM
THE GOVT OWNED BANKS AND WHO NEVER REPAY THE LOANS AND INTEREST TO THE LENDERS, EITHER THEY RUN AWAY FROM COUNTRY
OR ARRANGE TO MONEY LAUNDERING TO TAX HAVEN COUNTRIES
THIS IS A HORRIBLE CONDITION CREATED BY POLITICIANS
COMPARED TO INDIA JAPAN IS FAR BETTER AND WELL BLESSED WITH
HIGH TECHNOLOGY AND DEVOTION TO DUTY AND SINCERITY IN THEIR
JOBS AND THEY ARE KIND TO FOREIGN TOURISTS. THEY DONT CHEAT
I LIKE JAPANESE PEOPLE
Turn the volume down Nat, nobody’s def
It's the weak Japanese Yen, the stagnant economy, the low wages in Japan, high taxes, overall cost of living... I'd say this isn't just a JAL problem, but it affects all airlines serving Japan.
This is dumb. The airline benefits hugely from a weak yen. The grass is always greener I guess.
I was just in Honolulu for New Year's and was actually thinking the number of Japanese tourists seemed higher than in other recent visits (a few times over the last couple years). I haven't looked at the official tourism stats, but that was my anecdotal feeling. Certainly not as bad as around the pandemic. I stayed for a week at the end of 2020 and went up and down the elevator of a 40 floor...
I was just in Honolulu for New Year's and was actually thinking the number of Japanese tourists seemed higher than in other recent visits (a few times over the last couple years). I haven't looked at the official tourism stats, but that was my anecdotal feeling. Certainly not as bad as around the pandemic. I stayed for a week at the end of 2020 and went up and down the elevator of a 40 floor Waikiki hotel for the entire week and didn't run into a single other guest on the elevator until going down to check out on the last day.
The title seems to suggest that this problem is exclusive to JAL, without any mention of ANA. Yet the article states that it’s a problem faced by the Japanese as a whole, which JAL’s CEO is talking about. Surely it can’t be that the Japanese youth all fly ANA internationally and not JAL?
A bit pedantic, perhaps, but the title could be updated to show that this is a Japan-specific problem and not just a...
The title seems to suggest that this problem is exclusive to JAL, without any mention of ANA. Yet the article states that it’s a problem faced by the Japanese as a whole, which JAL’s CEO is talking about. Surely it can’t be that the Japanese youth all fly ANA internationally and not JAL?
A bit pedantic, perhaps, but the title could be updated to show that this is a Japan-specific problem and not just a JAL-specific one, because I bet ANA and the others are affected too.
Gaslight Ben again?
Ben still needs to visualise ANA this time?
Also wonder to what extent that, when young Japanese people do travel abroad, they choose to fly with one of the numerous low cost carriers in the region. JAL's fares are almost always the highest on the market. Of course, you receive an excellent product in return — but it's likely a trade off budget conscious travelers are willing to make.
Flying LLC and ULCC is widely popular in Asia and Europe among the youth.
Japan Airlines executives are telling us that Sum Ting Wong with today’s kids. Lol
Ha ha ha ha! Go Fuck Yourself says hello. Lol
If you’re going to be racist at least use something appropriately Japanese, but I guess you don’t know the difference and lump all Asians into the same racial stereotype
Gross comment, trash person go kys.
I'd disagree with travel to Europe becoming expensive. There was a brief period when prices went crazy high with all the delayed trips Europeans made post-pandemic restrictions and for a while I was almost depressed about what I could (not) afford with my fairly high travel budget, but hotel prices are down to normal levels. You can generally get very decent hotels in the 100-150€ per night range in most cities, which is just slightly...
I'd disagree with travel to Europe becoming expensive. There was a brief period when prices went crazy high with all the delayed trips Europeans made post-pandemic restrictions and for a while I was almost depressed about what I could (not) afford with my fairly high travel budget, but hotel prices are down to normal levels. You can generally get very decent hotels in the 100-150€ per night range in most cities, which is just slightly higher than pre-pandemic. There are some exceptions but those are mostly tourist traps like Barcelona or Venice which are not really worth visiting anyway imho.
The US demand in Europe impacts the market in a weird way since all Americans seem to visit the same 10 places where they drive prices crazy high, but the rest of continent is just fine.
If you really want to visit those places (which wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list), you can just stay a little bit outside of the super touristy bits- in the case of your examples, I'll go to the Fira area or Mestre. It's funny, if not technically illogical, that the people who happily drive 1.5 hour each way just to go to work every day will spend literally hundreds of Euros extra...
If you really want to visit those places (which wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list), you can just stay a little bit outside of the super touristy bits- in the case of your examples, I'll go to the Fira area or Mestre. It's funny, if not technically illogical, that the people who happily drive 1.5 hour each way just to go to work every day will spend literally hundreds of Euros extra just to avoid 20 minutes on the metro.
Other than a stay in London covered with GHA points that had been expiring, I can't even remember the last time I paid over €100 a night for a hotel anywhere in Europe, and I typically stay at 4* properties.
However, what has increased rather dramatically is restaurant pricing. Last month, I paid €8 for a glass of wine in Portugal. It was a decent wine but I doubt it goes for more than €6 a bottle in the supermarket. The same glass would've been something like €3.80 before the pandemic, and similarly my €28 octopus dish would have been more like €12.50.
Good point. I actually "had to" go to Milan just before Christmas and HGI Milan North was something like 90€ per night. At a peak season for a lovely hotel and a room with balcony. 15 mins on metro from the city centre. Totally worth it. Regular Hilton was still quite cheap though, something like 150€ but I didn't see the point in paying extra for it.
"if not technically illogical, that the people who happily drive 1.5 hour each way just to go to work every day will spend literally hundreds of Euros extra just to avoid 20 minutes on the metro."
I find your false sense of understanding funny.
1. People are not happy to drive 1.5 hours, they don't have much choice.
2. 20 mins on vacation and 1.5 hours everyday are not worth the same.
You probably still...
"if not technically illogical, that the people who happily drive 1.5 hour each way just to go to work every day will spend literally hundreds of Euros extra just to avoid 20 minutes on the metro."
I find your false sense of understanding funny.
1. People are not happy to drive 1.5 hours, they don't have much choice.
2. 20 mins on vacation and 1.5 hours everyday are not worth the same.
You probably still don't get it.
But I hope you still enjoy your €6 supermarket trip and 1.5 hour commute.
I literally wrote it's not illogical! I do get that lots of people in the USA, and possibly elsewhere in the Americas, justify poor working conditions in exchange for high salaries, but that sort of life (existence?) certainly isn't for everyone.
My commute is 40 seconds, I certainly enjoy it enough to not worry about 'career progression' and associated 20th century life goals.
Also all the click baity social media stuff about japan. There isnt a country on earth that gets as much exposure than japan.
That's because you watch it. My feed, whether it's YT, IG or Reddit, rarely has anything Japan-related.
I just got back from Japan, I'd say domestic tourism is indeed high - I saw few foreigners at any of my hotels, restaurants, etc. And the yen is trading for less than half the forex value it held 15 years ago, and its lowest value in over three decades.
Lets not forget, the Japanese have long been a source of tourists for the rest of the world.
That didn't suddenly change overnight, but the exchange rate did.
Can’t blame them, not only is the currency issue at play, but, regional and geopolitical tensions are escalating (mostly Xi bullying them and the rest of their neighbors); and, honestly, there’s already a lot to see and enjoy within Japan, usually at incredible value and quality. Not to mention, it’s not as if the rest of the world speaks Japanese or has their heightened expectations of excellence… (I know, no place is perfect… and they...
Can’t blame them, not only is the currency issue at play, but, regional and geopolitical tensions are escalating (mostly Xi bullying them and the rest of their neighbors); and, honestly, there’s already a lot to see and enjoy within Japan, usually at incredible value and quality. Not to mention, it’s not as if the rest of the world speaks Japanese or has their heightened expectations of excellence… (I know, no place is perfect… and they work themselves to the bone… but, like, c’mon, JAL, just up-gauge the Okinawa flights, fill ‘em.)
They almost solved all these problems until they foolishly attack Pearl Harbor.
Truman shows how real WMD is done, twice.
No human ever dared using WMD since.
You lot voted another Putin or Xi into power and agent orange is mad enough to obliterate the world
Not many passport holders, poor purchasing power abroad, etc. Lots of reasons why.
I think it could be good for JAL to focus on promoting more regional destinations, where there's less barriers, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, and other Asian countries are relatively close.
Exactly!
Zip air which is owned by Japan Airlines just announced they are stopping their daily flight to Manila at the end of March.
The Philippines is cheap, nearby and has better tropical nature/beach then Hawaii but is not pushed at all by the big travel agency like HIS.
There are so few young Japanese people to begin with….
The CEO shall be worried more about whether the country still exists in say 50 years
Nice alarmism you got there… ‘wOn’T eVeN hAvE a CoUnTrY aNyMoRe…’ pft.
Funny how no one ever says this with other countries with birth rate problems like South Korea
Other countries (eg Singapore) have immigrants. South Korea has… North Korea lol
@PlanetAvgeek - Huh? The demographic problem of South Korea is being mentioned all the time across media, I've read dozens of articles and watched dozens of videos on the topic. (Well, "problem", I mean if people are okay with it, it's not really a problem.)
first, airlines around the world carry their own citizens/residents more than they carry foreigners so JAL execs have a good reason to be concerned if "their share" of international travel is not traveling.
second, the Japanese economy has been one of the slowest growing developed economies in the world because Japan has low natural birth rates and has low inbound immigration. Japan faces all kinds of consequences of having a slow growth economy.
and third,...
first, airlines around the world carry their own citizens/residents more than they carry foreigners so JAL execs have a good reason to be concerned if "their share" of international travel is not traveling.
second, the Japanese economy has been one of the slowest growing developed economies in the world because Japan has low natural birth rates and has low inbound immigration. Japan faces all kinds of consequences of having a slow growth economy.
and third, Japan is not unlike Europe and the US in having manufacturing - what rebuilt the country post WWII - replaced by other countries but Japan has limited natural resources . Global services and commodities have to substitute for what manufacturing can't do and Japan doesn't do.
Yes, JAL execs have reason to be concerned. Their concerns reflect larger long-term structural issues w/ Japan itself. Airlines are always at the pointed edge of the spear of macroeconomic issues.
“airlines around the world carry their own citizens/residents more than they carry foreigners” you sure about that? Try Qatar, Emirates, Singapore, etc.
I don't think the sentence means "ALL airlines around the world carry their own citizens/residents more," but I agree that many do, and in the case of ANA/JAL this observation is absolutely true.
However, in the spirit of civil and objective discourse, which appears to be going out in fashion everywhere, I suggest that you give us the actual numbers for ALL airlines to tell us exactly how prevalent/not prevalent this trend is.
What a lovely way to show us (again) that you have no clue about aviation market beyond the US, Tim...
Also Finnair are carrying a large amount of foreigners, many of who just transfer in Helsinki. I think on a typical London - Helsinki flight about 70% are transfer passengers and of the 30% left only about half (15% of the total) are Finnish.
hope you all didn't burn too many calories arguing.... nowhere did I say ALL airlines...
the majority of passengers do choose airlines from their own country; naming a few airlines including from the Middle East that cater to pulling traffic from other countries doesn't change the general "rule"
No, majority of passengers don't, you are making a complete nonsense up. People decide on completely different factors.
yes, samo, the majority of airline passengers DO fly an airline of their own nationality.
"nowhere did I say ALL airlines..."
Tim is BUSTED but NEVER WRONG.
All Tim needs to do in life is never use "ALL" and Tim will never be wrong.
Don't argue with Tim.
This is the RULE OF TIM.
1. Tim is never wrong.
2. If Tim is wrong, repeat #1.
And Eskimo is never right cos he’s a leach sucking on the posts of others
“ if we don’t get young people to travel abroad, it will have a huge impact on the growth of the Japanese economy.”
Lol… people spending their money in Japan is apparently bad for the japanese economy.
I think you mean *your company*, not the economy.
Unless she's a lunatic like Al Baker or Tim Clark, statements like this is warning how she has no clue and will run the airline out of business.