Trend of overseas visitors in 2018 and expectation for 2019 – Many people are interested in Hokkaido but not many people actually visit there

Vietnam is No.1 for the growth rate of the number of the visitors in Japan

The latest trends of Vietnamese visitors can be seen from the number of times searched

AUN Consulting, Inc. (Tokyo, CEO: Akira Shida) operates global consulting services such as marketing services (SEM services, online advertising, etc.) and asset management service in nine countries in Asia. The company also operationalized SEO before other countries in Asia, and they have reached their 21st year in June 2018.

They have announced their survey on the trend of visiting Japan by the number of times searched by Vietnamese visitors.

https://www.auncon.co.jp/corporate/2019/0402.html

Summary

From January to December 2018, the number of Vietnamese visitors in Japan has increased by 26% from the previous year and reached about 389,000 (Table 1. Transition of the number of Vietnamese visitors). However, while the number of first-time visitors increased thanks to efforts of Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) to promote Japan to overseas travel agencies, the number of returning visitors are decreasing (Table 2. Returning visitors).

In 2018, JTA has reinforced their promotion towards Vietnamese travel agencies as Vietnam has a high rate of group tours.

<For companies>

To stimulate demand in visiting Japan and to appeal to potential visitors with new tourism content, JTA operates seminars, invites travel agencies, and carries out promotion in cooperation with travel agencies.

<For general public>

JTA strived to appeal potential visitors with what Japan has to offer and attract more people by participating in events and tourism exhibitions and spreading seasonal information about Japan through Vietnamese page on their official website and Facebook.

Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)

 

[Table 1. Transition of the number of Vietnamese visitors]

Note. Adapted from “Visitor Arrivals to Japan by country/monthly (2003-2018)” by JNTO

[Table 2. Returning visitors (Green: First time / Orange: Returning visitor)]

Note. Adopted from:

“Characteristics of Visitors and Trips – by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2014. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2014), Annex3.

“Characteristics of Visitors and Trips – by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2017. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2017), Annex3.

“Characteristics of Visitors and Trips – by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2018. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2018, The 2nd Preliminary), Annex4.

 

[Table 3. Visit rate by prefecture (green: more than 5%, yellow: more than 10%)]

Note. Adapted from:

“Visit Rate per Prefecture — by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2017. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2017), Annex6.

“Visit Rate per Prefecture — by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2018. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2018, The 2nd Preliminary), Annex8.

 

Vietnamese visitors use group tour services more than other overseas visitors (Table 4. Travel arrangement). On Vietnamese travel websites, there are tours that follow the Golden Routes: Tokyo to Shizuoka, Yamanashi (Mt. Fuji) to Nagoya to Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto. Therefore, the visit rate for main tourist cities are high. However, they have started to have more provincial tours that include Lake Iwanashiro in Fukushima, Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki, and Jigoku Onsen in Oita.
[Table 4. Travel arrangement (Left: All visitors / Right: Vietnamese visitors, Green: Independent travel / Blue: Group tour / Orange: Package for individual travelers)]

 

Note. Adapted from “Characteristics of Visitors and Trips – by Nationality/Region <Tourism/Leisure>” by JTA. 2018. Consumption Trend Survey of Foreigners Visiting Japan (July – September 2018), Annex4.

 

Trends seen from the number of searches

Main tourist places have a high search rate as a visiting rate is also high

The following table shows the regions that have a high rate of online search from Vietnam. Compared to the previous year, the number of searches, “Japan travel (Du lịch Nhật Bản),” has increased by 94% (55,100 à 106,900, = increased by 51,800 times). Especially, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto have a higher rate of searches as they are also most-visited places. As many of Vietnamese visitors are the first-timers, most of them are more interested in the main tourist cities.

In the table, the black parts are the places that are presumed to be searched frequently because of different things that have the same name as those places.
・Saitama – A main character’s name “Saitama” from Japanese manga One-Punch Man
・Saga – A company name “SAGA”
・Akita – Japanese dog, Akita
・Akashi – A character’s name “Akashi” from Japanese manga Kuroko’s Basketball
・Ube – A kind of a potato, “ube”

[Table 5. The number of searches for places in Japan]

Note. The number of times searched using Keyword Planner Tool of Google AdWords
[Table 6. The number of searches for “Japan travel” in Vietnamese]

Note. The number of times searched using Keyword Planner Tool of Google AdWords

Travel trends seen from the number of searches

Nikko is more known than Tochigi prefecture

People searched for Tochigi 6,120 times in 2018; however, Nikko, which is a town in Tochigi, was searched for 20,100 times. The number of times people search for Nikko is increasing. The reason can be an advertisement video on YouTube that you would find if you search for Nikko in Vietnam.

[Table 7. The number of times people searched for Nikko ]

Note. The number of times searched using Keyword Planner Tool of Google AdWords

 

The reason why people do not actually visit snowy places even though they are interested

Although the visit rate for Hokkaido is low, the number of searches is increasing. As there is no snow in Vietnam, people admire snow and are interested in winter sports. In fact, more and more people search for Shirakawa-go. However, during Vietnamese New Year, Tet Holiday, people usually visit their parents’ home and spend the winter holiday with family and friends instead of travel overseas. Therefore, the number of Vietnamese visitors in February 2018 was the lowest in the year, which was 23,000. They are interested in snowy tourist places, but they do not actually visit those places.

[Table 8. The number of searches for Hokkaido]

[Table 9. The number of searches for Shirakawa-go]

Note. The number of times searched using Keyword Planner Tool of Google AdWords

 

■The number of searches for Harajuku is increasing because of a movie

In December 2018, the number of searches for Harajuku increased. As AUN Consulting’s staff in Vietnam did a research, they found out a Vietnamese movie Seven Days of a Daddy and a Daughter, which was based on Japanese TV drama, was released on December 28, and it became popular. In the movie, the father like Harajuku fashion, and it is presumed that that is the reason of the sudden increase of the number of searches for Harajuku.

[Table 10. The number of searches for Harajuku]


Note. The number of times searched using Keyword Planner Tool of Google AdWords

 

Trends of Vietnamese visitors in the future

■Which places will have more visitors?

As mentioned above, Vietnamese people rarely travel overseas during the Tet Holiday. Therefore, the number of people who go out of the country reaches a peak in the summer. The most popular months for Japan travel are April for cherry blossoms and October for autumn leaves. Vietnam does not have four seasons; therefore, people desire to experience things they do not have in their country such as snow, cherry blossoms, and autumn leaves. Those seasons are the most popular.

Also, people spend their holidays differently depending on regions. People from Hanoi values group or family, so they spend more time with family. On the other hand, in Ho Chi Minh, people who spend time with friends or colleagues and ones spend time with family are almost at the same rate. Although many people still spend the Tet Holidays with family in their hometown, more and more people have started to travel overseas with friends or colleagues, and considering the high interest in snowy places, it is expected that more Vietnamese people would visit Japan during the winter.

[Common seasons for Vietnamese to travel]

・Late January to Early February: Tet Holiday
・May to August:Elementary schools and middle schools holidays
・July:College holidays
・Late August to Early September: National Day
・Late April to Early May:Victory Day / International Labour Day

How to deal with overtourism

In Shirakawa-go, the number of people who can enter the site has been limited due to overtourism, and reservation is now required. Overtourism has become such an issue in many tourist places. Vietnamese visitors are usually on a group tour and they stay for four to six days. Therefore, one of the solutions could be to plan tours that include provincial places where are ready to welcome visitors in addition to main tourist places. That kind of tours would attract even first-timers and it would be a good solution for overtourism.

To promote Japan to overseas, understanding their cultures and lives is the key to know the exact needs of potential visitors. AUN Consulting will keep collecting and spreading information regarding inbound tourism through search engine market by utilizing the network they have in nine countries in Asia.

 

About the Survey

Trend of overseas visitors in 2018 and expectation for 2019 – Many people are interested in Hokkaido but not many people actually visit there

Vietnam is No.1 for the growth rate of the number of the visitors in Japan

<Survey Overview>

Survey period: February 12, 2019 – March 22, 2019

Years covered in the survey: 2007–2018

Reference: JNTO Japan Travel Enticement Handbook 2018

Service names used in the article is registered trademarks or trademark of AUN Consulting, Inc.

When reproducing the article, please mention “Survey by AUN Consulting, Inc.” and contact them.