TOKYO: The average budget for trips in Japan during the upcoming year-end and New Year holiday period is estimated to hit a record high for the second straight year, a survey by travel agency JTB Corp. showed Thursday.

The increase reflects soaring accommodation costs and growing demand for travel to distant destinations, the company said.

The average budget for domestic trips is estimated at 43,000 yen per person, up 2,000 yen from a year before.

The number of people planning to travel domestically came to 28 million, almost unchanged year on year.

Soaring prices are weighing on appetite for trips to some extent, although the coming holiday period makes up to nine consecutive days off, from Dec. 28 through Jan. 5, possible.

The number of people planning to travel overseas is projected to jump 13.0 pct to 520,000, still only 62.9 pct of the fiscal 2019 level, before the COVID-19 pandemic, amid overseas inflation and a weak yen. The average travel budget per person stands at 273,000 yen.

JIJI Press