Arrivals drop seen as Japan restructures

As many Japanese corporations restructure their operations and continue to lay off people, an affiliate of the largest travel company in Japan said this will result in a big reduction of company group tours to the Northern Marianas.

Some Japanese companies which usually seek early bookings for employees’ tours have not made any reservations, said Koki Narita, president of Tasi Tours, a subsidiary of Japan Travel Bureau.

Arrangement of company tours for the following year are usually decided toward the end of the fiscal year. Now, Narita said bookings will all depend on how companies survived the economic problems besetting Japan.

With the double-digit decline in visitor arrivals to the CNMI, Tasi Tours expect a 10 percent slide in the number of Japanese visitors handled by the company.

This means the company projects to bring in some 85,000 to 90,000 Japanese travelers this year, about the same number of tourists it handled in 1996.

Japan, the world’s second largest economy, has been battling its worst recession since World War II as debt-ridden financial institutions scale back on lending, starving companies of cash.

“I’m afraid the situation in tourism will not improve dramatically because many companies are still laying off people in Japan,” he said.

Assuming that Japan’s economy will recover in 1999, Narita said this does not mean that tourism will bounce back immediately. “It takes a longer period for people to start spending the way they used to,” he added.

Although Japanese have not stopped traveling, they have become very cautious on how and where they spend their money. “They no longer go on optional tours, they don’t do much shopping. Instead, they just buy a cup of Ramen and stay in the hotel room,” said Narita.

For example, Narita noted that the gift shop on Managaha island, which is operated by Tasi Tours, suffered a 50 percent decline in sales. Japanese travelers no longer bring in that much money anymore unlike the way they used to.

Compared to single women, those who have reached middle age tend to spend more. “Young single women will look for cheaper packages and think many times before spending on something,” said Narita.

Based on the 1998 JTB report, around 80 percent of Japanese travelers were single men and women, and married men and women aged between 18 and 39 years. Of these, single women account for the biggest percentage of those with keen interest in traveling.