Travelers in Japan Up Budgets for New Year’s Holiday Trips

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Shinkansen platform at Tokyo Station is packed with travelers returning to their hometowns in December 2022.

People’s average budget for domestic travel during the New Year’s holiday season has risen by about 30% from last year to ¥45,235, according to a survey released Monday by research-firm Intage.

The average amount that people plan to spend on domestic travel increased by some ¥10,000 from last year due to higher prices and the downgrading of COVID-19’s severity under the Infectious Diseases Law.

The survey was conducted in late November with 5,000 people ages 15-79 nationwide.

For their holiday plans, 18.5% of respondents said they would go to their parents’ homes, up 2.5 percentage points from last year, and 8.3% said they would take a domestic trip of one night or more, up 0.7 points.