Abstract:

In 1964, the Japanese government removed travel restrictions which had prohibited its nationals from traveling abroad for pleasure. In less than a generation, Japan has become one of the leading tourist generating countries in the world. Given the low Japanese travel propensities abroad in comparison to those of other industrialized countries, Japanese international travel is expected to continue to grow impressively in the next millenium. However, forecasts of future Japanese travel abroad tend to focus on the economic determinants of travel demand. Demographic change is usually ignored in the forecasts. Japan, however, is now the fastest aging society in the industrialized world. This paper examines international travel propensities for men and women separately. It demonstrates that population aging and cohorts effects are likely to be important determinants of future Japanese international travel.

 

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