(CNN) — Hawaii is consistently one of the most popular holiday destinations for Japanese tourists. But they don’t show their love just by going there.
Food, clothes and even festivals all over Japan demonstrate that people’s love for the islands is about way more than beaches.
According to a 2022 travel trend report from Japanese domestic travel agency HIS, Hawaii had the most overseas trip reservations for the summer holidays, accounting for 20% of people booking overseas summer trips through the agency.
Japan’s two biggest airlines, ANA and JAL, restarted their daily flights to Hawaii in July and June, respectively, for the first time since the pandemic.
“ANA and JAL know that Hawaii is the first place Japanese tourists return to when traveling abroad. It is a place where they can go freely without a visa,” said Kotaro Toriumi, a Japanese aviation and travel analyst. “These airlines are strengthening their Hawaii campaigns the most … all they do is advertise for trips to Hawaii.”
Japan’s love affair with Hawaii can perhaps be summed up by one word: iyashi. It means “healing” or “comfort” in English but often encapsulates the sense of freedom and relaxation that many Japanese associate with the islands.
Rise in popularity, rise in prices
Although Japanese travelers’ love for Hawaii goes back decades, it will take a while for travel numbers to go back to their pre-Covid-19 heights.
Before the pandemic, Japanese travelers made up the largest number of overseas tourists in Hawaii. Based on data from the Hawaii Tourism Agency, Japanese tourists also spent the largest amount of money per visitor.
The number of travelers from Japan dropped by 95.2% for the first half of 2022 with only 34,925 visitors compared to the 734,235 in 2019. Japanese tourists spent $86.7 million in the first half of 2022, dropping 91.6% from $1.03 billion in 2019, just in Hawaii.
And there’s another factor at play, which is the decline of the yen. It has become much more expensive for Japanese to travel to the U.S. due to the yen’s decline against the dollar. The majority of current flight reservations for Hawaii are for upper cabin classes like business and premium economy.
“The people who want to go now are mostly wealthy people or people with high salaries because it’s normal for them. I think it’s not possible for young people to casually go to Hawaii right now.” Toriumi added.
Experiencing Hawaii without leaving Japan
For those who are unable to go to Hawaii, Japan offers local…
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