All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines are seeing a major uptick in reservations, with new bookings for international flights in October roughly doubling after the government first announced its plans.
The Japanese government on Wednesday increased the cap for daily arrivals to 50,000 people from 20,000. It also scrapped its requirement for proof of a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours of departure in certain cases, lowering the hurdle for overseas business travel.
ANA saw a swift increase in reservations for international flights after the government announced the changes on Aug 24. Average daily bookings for October flights departing Japan, in particular, increased 2.7 times in the week through Monday from mid-August.
Meanwhile, new JAL bookings for flights out of Japan increased 6.6 times during the same week, compared with mid-August. Many were business travellers, or Japanese living abroad make visits home.
“I’ve heard customers say they aren’t worried about going overseas now that the testing requirement is gone,” said ANA executive vice president Akiko Oyamada at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Both airlines are expanding international service, particularly for popular business routes, in preparation for a further rebound.
Travellers have high hopes for what eased restrictions mean for them.
“I used to be worried that I could test positive while abroad, but it’s easier to travel now without the testing requirement,” said a Tokyo office worker returning from Singapore.
“We don’t have to pay for a PCR test anymore, so I think I’ll have more opportunities to go overseas,” said a man in his 50s from neighbouring Chiba prefecture.
Japan’s travel industry is eager for a boost as well after years of headwinds from Covid-19. “Administrative requirements, like having to present proof of a negative test, psychologically deterred consumers from travelling,” said a representative at Hankyu Travel International.
The travel agency has seen an increase in new reservations for overseas tours since late August. “We are experiencing some headwinds from a weak yen, but there is demand for ‘revenge travel’ among those who finally feel like they can go abroad,” the representative said.
In addition to scrapping the testing requirement, Japan on Wednesday began allowing tourists for unchaperoned packaged tours. “This will be a boon for visitors from the US and Europe, who tend to stay for longer,” said a representative at Nippon Travel Agency.
Still, passenger traffic for international flights at ANA and JAL remains at around 40% of pre-pandemic levels. A further easing of restrictions will be key to a full recovery.
For example, Japan still has not opened its borders to tourists travelling on their own, who used to account for a large portion of arrivals to the country. Those on packaged tours still need to obtain a visa beforehand. There are roughly half as many reservations for flights arriving in Japan as there are for departures, according to ANA.
“Before Covid-19, 90% of visitors to Japan were tourists, and 80% of those were traveling on their own,” ANA’s Oyamada said.
“We still have roadblocks for inbound travel,” she said, adding that ANA will continue to urge the government to scrap the visa and packaged tour requirements.
“The higher cap on arrivals is itself good news, but it doesn’t mean travel will immediately recover,” said a representative at a leading travel agency.
“Airlines will need to increase international flights as requirements ease,” the representative said. “We also need to coordinate with local partners to plan tours, so there will be some lag before demand actually rebounds.”
“More inbound tourists mean more people travelling throughout Japan, so it will be a plus for us,” said Yuji Fukasawa, president and CEO of East Japan Railway. He said he will urge the government to further ease restrictions.