Business travel in Japan - statistics & facts
Business travel is an established business custom in Japan and is one of the three pillars of the tourism industry, together with leisure travel and travel for visiting friends and family. In Japan, leisure travel for touristic purposes is the leading segment concerning the most important KPIs, such as the number of trips undertaken, and the total expenses recorded in the industry. Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, business travel comprised the second largest source of expenditure in the tourism industry. However, there was a shift in travel behavior during the pandemic which saw a considerable decline in overall travel, as well as a shift towards travel for the purpose of homecoming or visiting friends. This led to business travel expenditure for overnight travel and same-day travel alike to place last among the three segments. The ongoing digitalization at the workplace and COVID-19-related restrictions on travel had a considerable impact on business travel performance. The share of Japan鈥檚 population that went on overnight business trips or one-day business trips declined to the low single-digit spectrum during the pandemic. Despite this setback, business travel seems to be an integral part of the business world in Japan and is likely to rebound as the pandemic is brought under control.
