JAPAN. Spearheaded by long-haul destination travel during the Golden Week period in late April, the number of Japanese visiting the USA mainland in that month was the best showing so far this year.
Statistics reported by Japan’s Office of Tourism and Travel Industries show that USA-bound travel (including those for Hawaii and Guam, which are counted separately) rose +5.8% to 278,239 in April, marking the highest increase so far this year and best since August 2004 when arrivals climbed +13.6%.
By deducting the figures for Hawaii (106,030) and Guam (68,197) to get the total for the USA mainland, the count reached 104,030, up +8.6%. The increase is the highest in the first four months of 2005 and the best since September 2004 when the growth level hit +8.9%. It also marked the second consecutive increase this year.
The rise in arrivals was partly fuelled by Golden Week travellers opting for long-haul destinations such as the USA mainland and Europe rather than Hawaii, Guam and Asia.
However, in the first four months of 2005, the total number of Japanese visitors to the USA mainland was down -3.8% to 404,788 compared to a year ago.
The total number of Japanese visitors to all American destinations, including Hawaii and Guam, rose 1,212,662, up +3.95% from the year-ago period.
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