Travel Website Traffic in Japan: Calm After the Storm?

Despite being battered by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, Japan is home to one of Asia Pacific's largest and most dynamic online travel markets. But traffic to travel websites in Japan declined significantly in the wake of the calamity, while overall Internet traffic grew in the same period. Phocuswright's Japan Online Travel Traffic Report (a Global and Asia Pacific Edition publication) reveals that online travel websites attracted 8% fewer visitors in May – July 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, while overall Internet traffic rose 1%.

"Not surprisingly, Asia's largest travel market suffered steep declines in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami last March, but Japan's online travel landscape remains among Asia's most dynamic and competitive," says Douglas Quinby, senior director, research at Phocuswright. "Working with our partner comScore, we have identified some of the fundamental factors that drive traffic to a range of online travel categories in Japan, and uncovered the trends that continue to shape the country's online travel marketplace."

Phocuswright's Japan Online Travel Traffic Report analyzes traffic volume, unique visitors, cross-visitation and source/loss patterns across key travel subcategories, including online travel agencies (OTAs), airlines, hotels, metasearch, traditional travel agency websites and more. Key coverage includes:

• Traffic to travel website categories, with in-depth analysis of the 15-month period ending July 2011. Subcategory coverage features:
  • Online travel agencies
  • Traditional travel agency websites
  • Airlines
  • Hotels
  • Ground transportation
  • Car rentals
  • Metasearch
  • Travel information websites
• Travel website rankings within each travel category, including average monthly unique visitors
• Comparison of traffic to supplier websites versus OTAs and non-transactional sites
• Detailed examination of key online players, including cross-visitation, source and loss patterns

Despite slower growth relative to some emerging markets in the region, Japan's online travel bookings are projected to exceed US$31 billion in 2012. Phocuswright's Japan Online Travel Traffic Report (US$995) arms travel companies with the insight and information needed to understand one of Asia Pacific's most robust and influential online travel markets.

Phocuswright has published other country-specific reports for the Asia Pacific region: Australia ($695), China ($695), India ($695). All four reports are available as a package for significant savings.