Measured in available seat kilometers, total capacity on international routes was 21.1% less than the holiday period last year. The overall seat load factor at 83.6% is 8.9 percentage points higher than the previous period despite a decline of 11.8% in international passenger numbers. On their part, the troubled JAL Group operated 76 additional flights, both scheduled and charter, to such destinations as Guam, Honolulu, Cairns, Fairbanks, Siem Reap, Bali and more while on domestic routes, JAL decreased seat supply by 6.9% against the same period last year, transporting 1,327,578 domestic passengers, 7% down versus the number of passengers carried during the festive period a year before.

Overall load factor on domestic Japan flights was recorded at 2.1% points lower to stand at 63.3%. During this holiday period, JAL Group operated an additional 128 domestic flights to meet demand on popular routes in Japan, such as Tokyo – Miyazaki, and Tokyo – Kagoshima.

This proposal has however seen banks rejecting the liquidation proposal because of fears of widening losses and concern that bankruptcy could disrupt the airline’s operations. The latest news reports that the Development Bank of Japan has nonetheless agreed to increase the amount of its unsecured loans to the airline. This is the fourth time the troubled carrier has been bailed out by the state-run Development Bank of Japan since 2001. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), the renewed uncertainty over JAL’s future creates ever-widening ripples. Indeed the new bankruptcy concerns appear certain to force a downgrading of the carrier’s credit rating, and already the premium it must pay to insure its loans has increased significantly.

A further issue noted by CAPA was that in the event of JAL’s bankruptcy and any sharp reduction in airline size, the government would be anxious not to allow a scramble for any airport slots consequently released at Tokyo’s capacity constrained airports. Delta Air Lines, the world’s biggest airline operator, and its rival American Airlines, have been vying for a stake in JAL in a bid to expand their Asian networks, with Delta offering a US$1 billion offer to lure JAL from American. The latest news is that Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, is considering taking over the international routes of its struggling rival. All Nippon is reportedly looking to increase its overseas flights by targeting profitable routes to Europe and the United States and has allegedly informed the Japanese government of its interest. All Nippon competes with JAL on more than 30 of All Nippon’s 40 international routes.

Several cabinet ministers are reported to have asked JAL to completely withdraw from overseas flights and hand the business over to All Nippon. JAL has of late been making temporary adjustments to its international flight frequency and fleet plan. This has seen frequency flights on two international routes, namely that from Tokyo (Narita) to Sao Paulo via New York, and Tokyo (Narita) to Shanghai, reduced for a period of two to three months between January and March 2010, strongly attributed to weak passenger demand on these routes. Capacity is also expected to be lowered with the downsizing of aircrafts used on three other international routes between Tokyo and Beijing as well as Hong Kong for a similar length of time.

The outlook for the next three months indicates a DI of minus 62, suggesting a slow but continued improvement. Seen by type of business, full-line travel agencies reportedly rose to the highest level DI level at minus 46, a sharp rise of 14 points from the last survey. On the other hand, retailers and house agents are turning for the better; retailers with sales exceeding three billion yen saw an improvement of 22 points. However, agencies specializing mainly in overseas travel with sales of more than five billion yen lost 16 points. Overseas package tour wholesalers also sank by 11 points. In the outlook for the next three months predicts that full-line agencies will record a minus 60 DI, package tour wholesalers minus 78, and the agencies specializing in overseas travel minus 56.

These indexed figures therefore point towards mixed sentiments for the immediate future among the different businesses. In the current assessment by market segment, the survey by JATA notes that business and inspection trips and senior market exhibited an uptick of nearly 10 points. Seniors, above all, recorded the highest in DI at minus 33. Honeymooners, on the other hand, went a notch higher in comparison by two points to minus 57, while ratings for families went down by 6 points to minus 66. In the outlook for the next three months, ratings for students will rise by 12 points to minus 63 as their travel season begins. In reading the present sentiment by destination, Asia will steadily move up 4 points to minus 41 with travel to Korea and Taiwan shows a strong sign as nearby choice destinations among the Japanese, while China will gain an upswing of 16 points to minus 43.

Travel to Hawaii, Oceania, and Micronesia, besides choice destinations in Asia will significantly improve given the DI signals for the next three months. The DI for domestic travel on the contrary fell 9 points to minus 66, but indications point towards an upturn of 6 points for three months ahead to minus 60.

With this restricted holiday period, most travelers are instead opting for nearby destinations for short stays that will average just 3.5 days, short by 0.2 days than is the usual. On the contrary, outbound travel is favorable attributed to by factors associated with appreciation of the Japanese yen coupled by reduction in oil surcharge mostly to Korea, where a 4.7% year on year growth estimated to 111,000 on a weak won, will be gained surpassing even the spiked level of visitors attained a year ago. Travel expenses are also assumed to be curtailed by 15.1% on smaller surcharge amount and a bigger share of short-haul destinations. Total travel expenditure among the Japanese is currently estimated at 109 billion yen, down 18.6%.

As Korea is the only destination that exceeds the result achieved a year earlier, China, Malaysia, Canada, and New Zealand are nonetheless maintaining the same level of Japanese visitors year on year. On the flip side, the destination that marks the biggest decline in Japanese outbound visitors is South Pacific, down 25% at 3,000 travelers, followed by the U.S. mainland, down 15.2% (equivalent of 5,000 people) at 28,000 travelers. Domestic travelers are, on the other hand, estimated at 28.5 million, down 2.5% with travel expenses averaging 32,400 yen, down 3.6%, and total travel spending is expected to be 923.4 billion yen, down 6%. JTB’s report that anticipates negative growth contrasts to the low sales recorded by travel agencies in the country.

For instance on their part, Kinki Nippon Tourist (KNT) posted 38.2 billion yen in travel sales for October 2009, down 15% from last year, of which overseas travel was 11.5 billion yen, down 21.7%, and domestic travel was 25.4 billion yen, down 13.3 %. In overseas travel sales, group travel sank 23.9% to 4.0 billion yen with ordinary groups falling 22.8% to 2.7 billion yen and student groups down 26.1% to 1.2 billion yen. Package tours also plunged 24.4% to 4.1 billion yen with Holiday dropping 24.3% to 4.1 billion yen and other packages plummeting 71.8% to 2 million yen.

This increase is attributed to an influx of Chinese tourists to the area, and in the number of business travelers from Europe and the U.S., the latter travel segment that bounced back since declining in the wake of last fall’s financial crisis. On their part, the Hilton Tokyo which had experienced 30-35% fewer foreign business customers than in 2007, reportedly rebounded to being down just 10-15% in October. The Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku on its part recorded an occupancy rate of 91.9% in October, a 0.8-point increase from the same month a year earlier.

The Tokyo Prince Hotel saw its occupancy rate climb 3.2 points to 85.5% attributed to a strong inflow of Chinese tourists, many in groups of four to eight. Increases in business clients have mostly been customers from pharmaceutical companies from the United States of America. Compared to Tokyo, occupancy rates in the Osaka area slipped 2.4 points year-over-year to 80.7% after improving in September for the first time in 14 months.

These key attributes have precipitated hosting of a new luxury travel event-Blossom Japan-by Lucioles, the recently launched company headed by Jay Martens, co-founder of Reed Exhibitions’ Asia Luxury Travel Market (ALTM). Blossom Japan is a premium trade event exclusively for the development of the high-end travel market of Japan. In a press statement, Lucioles reports that the event would provide worldwide participants with the opportunity “to tap into the lucrative but hard to penetrate Japanese market by presenting a forum of exceptional one-to-one business opportunities”. The invitation-only event is slated to be held from January 18-21, 2011 and will start with a full day conference followed by a three-day exhibition at the Tokyo International Forum. One free day in Tokyo is included in the package to allow participants to experience the city.

Espoused for being an event of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, Asia Luxury Travel Market (ALTM) brings together the world’s most sought after destinations, ultra-luxurious accommodation, elite transportation and unique travel experiences, showcased for the most discerning Asian luxury travel buyer. Such events are usually by invitation only and offer luxury travel providers the opportunity to reach Asia Pacific’s VIP Buyers. Shanghai, China is in line to host the event in June 2010 coming after equally hosting this year’s event. Asia Luxury Travel Market is a registered trade mark of Reed Exhibitions Limited.

The latest edition of the Michelin guide to Tokyo reveals that the city now has 11 three-star restaurants, with the city as a whole boasting over 260 Michelin stars. Japan Journey is thus set to offer a ten-day itinerary that will include a cookery class in Tokyo, as well as a tour of a sake brewery, a visit to the biggest fish market in the world and the opportunity to sample some of the world’s best cooking at Tokyo’s Michelin-starred restaurants. Travelers with Japan Journeys will in this regard get to experience firsthand why Tokyo was voted the newly crowned gastronomic capital of the world by participating in a cooking class in the city, trying a traditional o-bento and visiting the city’s best ramen noodle bars. The tour also takes in Kyoto and Nara, giving travelers the chance to take a trip on Japan’s famous Bullet Train and attend a Sumo Tournament.

Already a growing interest in gastronomy tourism is gaining ground in the Asia region as explored in a cross-national study by Hurng and Tsai* where they explored the contents of the cuisine and gastronomy websites of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, analyzing the techniques used to introduce and promote these East Asian tourist destinations’ cuisine and food culture. Specifically, the researchers examined the capacity of government websites to introduce and advertise traditional and local foods, restaurants, gastronomic tours, recipes and culinary cultures (including table manners and other dining customs). They also looked more generally at culinary tourism marketing strategies, including the use of restaurant guides and certifications.

The scholars found that the content of government tourism websites is very important for promoting a tourist destination’s exciting cuisine and food culture. These websites help to shape a country’s, region’s or locality’s culinary-cultural image; and they create a virtual experience for culinary tourists.

The JNTI attributes the rise in the number to factors associated with the appreciation of the Australian dollar against the yen, special airfare sales, and an increase in media promotions targeting the Australian market. Furthermore, with the launch of the Visit Japan Year 2010 Campaign, a marketing effort aimed at increasing travelers to Japan and achieving Japan’s goal of 10 million international visitors by 2010, JNTO is optimistic that Australian arrivals will continue to increase, especially with Japan’s ski season scheduled to begin soon. Indeed the Australian dollar has been making a steady recovery with one dollar now worth around 80 yen compared to 60 yen at the same time last year.

The figures released by JNTO are based on arrivals of Australian passport holders and include business, leisure, and stopover visitors. Australia remains the sixth major Japan inbound market ahead of the UK, Thailand, Canada and France and behind South Korea, China, Taiwan, USA and Hong Kong.