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Golden Week arrivals
to be similar to
’99, JTB says

Star-Bulletin staff

Japanese are expected to flock overseas for this year's Golden Week holidays April 27 through May 7, but Hawaii should not expect any improvement over last year, according to Japan's biggest travel agency, Japan Travel Bureau Inc.

In recent years, travelers from Japan to Hawaii, many of them repeat visitors, have shown a tendency to dodge peak holiday periods, when prices are higher. Instead, they choose to travel before or after the holidays to grab bargains.

This year, JTB said, 59,000 Japanese are expected to visit the islands during the 11-day holiday period, the same number as last year.

The U.S. mainland will get 69,000 this season, a 4.5 percent increase from 66,000 last year.

In all, 583,000 Japanese are expected to travel overseas for Golden Week, a 9.6 percent increase from 532,000 last year, JTB said. Most of the increase is going to other parts of Asia, such as Korea and Hong Kong.

JTB surveyed 2,200 adults who were booking travel at 200 of its offices throughout Japan.

Golden Week is a popular time to travel for the Japanese because several national holidays fall within an 11-day period.

The agency said travelers who are able to take days off on the nonholidays of May 1 and 2 can have an 11-day vacation.