The number of holidaymakers in Japan making domestic trips during the New Year vacation period is expected to rise by 3 million from a year earlier but remain at 71.8% of pre-pandemic levels, or 21 million people, according to travel agency projections released this month.
Major Japanese travel agency JTB Corp. partially attributed the expected increase from the 2021/2022 holiday period to people having a lower psychological barrier to travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
The less than full-fledged recovery in travel was likely the result of rising prices of goods and services as well as efforts to limit outdoor activities during the ongoing "eighth wave" of virus infections, according to the company.