Air tickets from China to Japan exceed those from Europe
From January 28 to February 4, the highest round-trip price of China Airlines’ economy class tickets from Beijing to Tokyo and Osaka was about 9,595 yuan, while the round-trip price of China Airlines’ Beijing-Rome tickets was 9,639 yuan, and the round-trip price of China Airlines’ Beijing-Madrid tickets was only 8,406 yuan.
From January 28 to February 4, the round-trip price of China Airlines’ economy class tickets from Beijing to Sapporo was 14,939 yuan, while the round-trip price of China Airlines’ Beijing-Paris tickets was 11,109 yuan.
From January 28 to February 4, the round-trip price of China Southern Airlines’ economy class tickets from Beijing to Tokyo was 8,076 yuan, while the round-trip price of China Southern Airlines’ Beijing-London tickets was 8,424 yuan.
From January 28 to February 4, the highest round-trip price of China Eastern Airlines’ economy class tickets from Shanghai to Tokyo was 10,655 yuan, while the round-trip price of Shanghai-Rome tickets was 9,099 yuan.
Of course, we can also choose Spring Airlines, which has narrow seats, no meals, and no luggage allowance, and listens to advertising and selling all the way. However, this Spring Festival, the price of Spring Airlines’ domestic round-trip tickets to Japan is as high as nearly 7,000 yuan.
In addition, some air tickets that require transfers and arrive in Japan at night and return to China in the morning will have some discounts, which are also flying higher than usual.
Chinese tourists’ preference for traveling to Japan is not only obvious from the air ticket price, but also leads global tourists in terms of market data.
On January 15, the Japan Tourism Agency released data showing that the number of tourists visiting Japan in 2024 increased by 47% over the previous year. By country and region, the growth rate compared with the previous year was about 2.9 times in mainland China and 33% in the United States.
By country and region, the amount of consumption by mainland Chinese tourists in Japan is also far ahead, with a total consumption of 1.7335 trillion yen (about 81.2 billion yuan), ranking first.
The second highest consumption in Japan is in Taiwan, China, reaching 193.6 billion yen (about 51.6 billion yuan), and the third highest is South Korea, at 963.2 billion yen (about 45.4 billion yuan).
The Spring Festival is coming soon, and the rising prices of air tickets to Japan have already indicated that the domestic enthusiasm for Japan tourism has risen again.
Behind the air ticket prices are often changes in market supply and demand, and the soaring air ticket prices in Japan during this year’s Spring Festival are also the case.
At the end of last year, Japan relaxed the conditions for issuing tourist visas to Chinese people in Japan, including the establishment of a new tourist visa with a validity period of 10 years and the extension of the number of days that group travel visas can stay from 15 days to 30 days, in order to promote economic and cultural exchanges between China and Japan.
From the practical experience of domestic travel agencies in sending visas, the Beijing consular district not only cancels the employment certificate, but also does not need to freeze the deposit. The salary flow can be used as an asset condition. Although a tax bill must be provided, the amount can be 0.
In the Shanghai consular district, if you apply for a three-year or five-year visa to Japan, you can also use the salary flow as proof of assets.
It can be seen that the favorable visa policy of Japan is one of the reasons why the search volume of round-trip air tickets to Japan during the Spring Festival began to rise sharply.
Data provided by Tongcheng Travel shows that as of 17:30 on the day when Japan relaxed the visa for Chinese tourists to Japan, the search volume of domestic round-trip air tickets to Japan during the Spring Festival holiday increased by more than 3 times compared with the same period of the previous day, and the number of inquiries about related tourism products also increased significantly.
The popularity of Japan’s tourism industry this year also benefited from the continuous decline of the yen against the RMB exchange rate, making Japan an irresistible cheap and good destination for a large number of Chinese tourists.
As of press time, the exchange rate of 10,000 yen against the RMB fluctuated around 471 yuan, which was more appreciated than last year’s May Day, but not much, and it was still attractive to many Chinese tourists who were ready to go shopping.
According to public information, the consumption of tourists visiting Japan this year has reached a level comparable to the market size of Japan’s domestic clothing industry.
In addition, Southeast Asia has recently suffered the negative effects of the “Wang Xing incident”. Some Chinese tourists who planned to travel to Southeast Asia have returned to domestic destinations such as Xishuangbanna and Sanya, which has also indirectly benefited Japan’s tourism.
Compared with Southeast Asia, Japan’s tourism has always left Chinese tourists with the impression of safety, peace of mind, and humanized services. These plus points cannot be underestimated for Chinese tourists who increasingly value travel safety.
From the actual experience of Chinese tourists, Japan holds various festivals throughout the year, from the summer fireworks festival to the winter snow lantern festival. Tourists can experience rich local culture, traditional performances and local food. These are well-known travel experiences during the journey, forming a strong siphon effect on domestic social media.
The surge in tourists visiting Japan is supporting the Japanese economy.
According to data from the Japan Tourism Agency, the consumption of tourists visiting Japan in 2024 reached 813.95 billion yen, and the number of tourists reached 36.8699 million, both of which set a record high.