Photo/Illutration People wait at a check-in counter for a flight to Istanbul at Kansai International Airport on April 26. (Yo Noguchi)

Japanese travel abroad remains largely sluggish across the board, but one country is showing signs of becoming a tourist hotspot in the age of the depreciated yen: Turkey.

In January this year, the number of departures from Japan to Turkey was about 6,000, 106 percent of the figure for the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to data from JTB Tourism Research and Consulting Co.

In February, the figure reached about 8,000, around 110 percent of the number in February 2019.

In contrast to the yen’s downward movement against major currencies, the Japanese currency continues to appreciate against the Turkish lira. It is now at its lowest level against the yen in 10 years.

This trend has made Turkey one of the few destinations where Japanese visitors can enjoy a “bargain” feeling.

Overall, about 1.22 million Japanese departed for destinations abroad in March, about 63 percent of the figure for the same month in 2019, according to preliminary data released by the Justice Ministry.

Travel agencies cited the declining value of the yen as the main reason.

The yen was in the upper 130-yen level against the dollar in July 2023, but it temporarily dropped to around 150 yen in November and recently depreciated further to the upper 150-yen level.

The global rise in prices has driven up costs for hotels and airline tickets, making overseas trips more expensive for Japanese travelers.

The number of Japanese travelers who made overnight stays in United States was about 127,000 in January, or 46 percent of figure in January 2019, according to the JTB Tourism Research and Consulting data.

The number to Spain was 25,000, or 62 percent, while the figure for Germany was about 15,000, or 51 percent.

About 20,000 Japanese visited Australia in January, 65 percent of the pre-pandemic figure.

Around East Asia, where costs are less expensive than those in the West, about 143,000 Japanese visited South Korea in January, or 69 percent of the 2019 number. The number of Japanese travelers to Taiwan was about 95,000 that month, or 65 percent.

But the situation with Turkey is different.

On April 26, a long line formed at the check-in counter at Kansai International Airport for a flight to Turkey.

A woman traveling to Istanbul said: “I decided where to go after considering the impact of the exchange rate. It is difficult to visit Europe and the United States now.”

A representative of a Tokyo-based travel company that deals in trips to Turkey said, “The weak lira continues to make it possible to travel at a good price.”

The representative said bookings have been “extremely strong,” and the pace of increase has doubled compared with the rate in pre-pandemic 2019.

Although the number of available aircraft seats for international travel has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, direct flights between Istanbul and Kansai Airport increased from four per week to seven per week this spring.

Together with flights from Narita and Haneda airports, access to Turkey has improved.

The Turkish government said the number of foreign tourists to the country in 2023 reached a record high 56.7 million.

A representative of the Japan Research Institute said the tourism industry should also keep in mind Argentina and Egypt, whose currencies have depreciated against the yen due to domestic economic turmoil.

According to a JTB estimate released in May, the number of Japanese people traveling abroad during the Golden Week holidays will be about 80 to 90 percent of the number before the pandemic.

Related News