Japanese tourists in Piazza Spagna, Rome Photo: Jorge Royan
At a time when there are so many apps for instant and last-minute booking, it will probably come as a surprise to many that there are travelers (I’m one) who like to book plans way in advance. And nobody, it seems, likes it more than Japanese travelers.
A study published in JapanToday indicates that 4 out of 5 Japanese travelers have their bookings at least two months in advance, and 57% are all booked more than three months out. The survey included 500 respondents who had made their own reservations for international leisure travel. For popular destinations, such as Hawaii, a quarter had made reservations seven months ahead.
Interestingly, while most of the travelers used the internet for their research (39% used only the internet and 34% used it but not exclusively), only about 20% booked their travel with online agencies. 54% went to brick-and-mortar agents for the final purchase. Presumably the other quarter purchased directly from carriers and hotels. The favorite destinations, by the way: Taiwan, Hawaii and Korea.
Some of us need to go out well beyond two months to be sure we get the time off we want (especially popular vacation times like Thanksgiving or Christmas vacation). So I’m very much in favor of planning in advance. Of course this makes it hard to be responsive to great last minute travel deals.