Japan’s tour operators want to benefit from the expected boom in outbound travel and are once again offering trips to Hawaii, one of the most popular destinations in the country. After all, 1.5 million Japanese traveled there in 2019.
With Golden Week just two weeks away, the Japanese government has eased entry and exit after two years of travel restrictions.
JTB, HIS and other tour operators are again taking bookings
The large travel agency JTB Corp. offers since April 15 again for trips to Haiwaiideparting from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Osaka’s Kansai International Airport starting April 28.
Since March 2020, the tour operator has not accepted any more reservations.
Tour operator HIS also plans to travel to the country available again from May 1st. The company’s local office will provide 24-hour assistance to Japanese tourists.
A spokesman for KNT-CT Holdings Co., a travel conglomerate that also owns Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., said the company was also considering resuming travel to Hawaii.
Government makes travel easier
Japan’s government had eased travel restrictions for 106 countries since April 1. Stage 2 now only calls for restraint on unnecessary travel, while the previous recommendation was to eliminate all international travel by March.
At the same time, entry restrictions were relaxed. The number of people allowed to enter the country every day has been increased to 10,000 and self-quarantine regulations have also been eased.
Airlines are increasing the number of flights
In addition to tour operators, the two largest airlines in Japan have also started selling trips to Hawaii and plan to increase the number of flights during Golden Week.
All Nippon Airways currently operates three round-trip flights between Haneda and Honolulu each week, but an additional round-trip flight will be offered during Golden Week.
A spokesman for the company said that some flights are already almost fully booked.
Japan Airlines will also offer additional flights on its Haneda and Narita to Honolulu routes during Golden Week.
An ANA spokesman said the number of passengers flying to Hawaii is down about 10 percent from 2019 levels. Still, the company hopes more Japanese will choose to travel to Hawaii.