世論 What Japan Thinks

[part 1][part 2]

A recent survey from Macromill Research looked at overseas holidays, both weekend breaks via the new Haneda international terminal and longer holidays.

Demographics

Between the 25th and 27th of August 2010 1,000 members of the Macromill monitor group resident in Tokyo or one of the three surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama and in full-time employment in either the public or private sectors completed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split by sex exactly 50:50 in each of the age groups, with 25.0% in their twenties, 25.0% in their thirties, 25.0% in their forties, and 25.0% aged fifty or older.

One reason that South Korea is so popular for a short break is that their currency is really cheap these days. I’d like to visit Seoul myself just to see what it’s like, but South Korean cooking looks even less veggie-friendly than Japanese, and I prefer my spicyness limited to curry only!

Research results

Q1: On the 21st of October 2010 Haneda airport will open a new international terminal with around-the-clock flights planned. This will be convenient for flight departures after work, etc, so would you want to use Haneda to take a weekend overseas break? (Sample size=1,000)

	All	Male N=500	Female N=500
Definitely want to (to SQs)	42.1%	39.2%	45.0%
Perhaps want to (to SQs)	37.5%	38.2%	36.8%
Don’t really want to	14.8%	16.4%	13.2%
Don’t want to at all	5.6%	6.2%	5.0%

Furthermore, women in their twenties and thirties were about 10 percentage points more keen to take a weekend away compared to all other age groups.

Q1SQ1: About how much per adult would you budget for a weekend break from Haneda airport? (Sample size=761, free answer)

	All	Male N=369	Female N=392
Average budget	80,851 yen	84,756 yen	77,176 yen

Women in their twenties and thirties had the lowest budgets, and men over fifty were the only group to go over 100,000 yen per person.

Q1SQ2: With whom would you like to go with on a weekend break from Haneda airport? (Sample size=761, multiple answer)

	All	Male N=369	Female N=392
Friends	51.5%	35.1%	67.0%
Spouse	43.5%	54.3%	33.3%
Boyfriend, girlfriend	34.2%	34.6%	33.7%
Children, grandchildren	22.2%	28.2%	16.6%
Alone	21.4%	20.9%	21.8%
Parents, grandparents	11.3%	5.9%	16.4%
Other	2.0%	1.0%	2.9%

Q1SQ3: Where would you want to go to on a weekend break from Haneda airport? (Sample size=761, multiple free answer, top five)

Rank	All	Percentage	Male N=369	Percentage	Female N=392	Percentage
1	South Korea	59.3%	South Korea	51.9%	South Korea	66.3%
2	Guam	36.4%	Guam	35.9%	Hawaii	38.9%
3	Hawaii	34.8%	Hawaii	30.5%	Guam	36.9%
4	Hong Kong	27.9%	Hong Kong	22.5%	Hong Kong	33.0%
5	Taipei	25.0%	Taipei	21.4%	Taipei	28.4%

Almost three in four women in their thirties wanted to go to South Korea. The main reasons for choosing South Korea was food (yakiniku grilled beef and kimchi), visiting beauty parlours, and Korean drama location visits.

Q2: Do you currently want to take an overseas holiday? (Sample size=1,000)

Want to go (to SQ1)	49.4%
Perhaps want to go (to SQ1)	37.2%
Perhaps don’t want to go (to SQ2)	9.5%
Don’t want to go at all (to SQ2)	3.9%

Q2SQ1: Why do you currently want to take an overseas holiday? (Sample size=866, multiple answer)

Because the yen exchange rate is good	57.2%
Because there’s a country I want to go to	46.3%
Because the international flights from Haneda have increased	27.0%
Because there’s cheap tours	23.9%
Because it’s become easy to buy cheap tickets on the internet	19.7%
Because I can easily use the airport at weekends	14.9%
Because a lot of low cost carriers have started operating	14.9%
Because access to Narita has become easier	10.4%
Because I’ve saved up some money	8.5%
Because there’s a long holiday in September	7.6%
Other	9.6%

Q2SQ2: Why don’t you currently want to take an overseas holiday? (Sample size=866, multiple answer)

Because I’ve no spare cash	54.5%
Because I cannot take a long holiday	41.8%
Because I can’t speak the language	30.6%
Because I worry about law and order	30.6%
Because it’s too much bother	29.9%
Because I prefer domestic holidays	28.4%
Because I’m not interested in foreign travel	22.4%
Because I don’t want a long flight	20.1%
Because the food doesn’t look good	7.5%
Other	7.5%

Q3: How many times have you travelled abroad, excluding business? (Sample size=1,000)

	All	Male N=500	Female N=500
Once	15.8%	19.4%	12.2%
Two to four times	25.4%	28.2%	22.6%
Five to nine times	19.9%	14.6%	25.2%
Ten or more times	21.5%	16.8%	26.2%
Never	17.4%	21.0%	13.8%

A third of men in their twenties and a quarter in their thirties have never been abroad, whereas for women 15% or less of all age groups had never travelled for fun. Similarly, a quarter of men in their twenties and a fifth in their thirties had holidayed overseas just once.

[part 1][part 2]