Japan On Sale: Why It’s Summer’s Big Travel Bargain

14.05.2024 - 13:11 / forbes.com

The U.S. dollar is going strong relative to many foreign currencies right now, which translates to international travel bargains for savvy shoppers. One of the easiest way for American travelers to grab a “deal” on an overseas trip is to choose a destination where the comparatively strong dollar delivers a built-in automatic discount for on-the-ground costs like hotels, dining and attractions.

Right now, a trip to many countries in Asia is easier on the wallet than in recent years. Is Bangkok or Phuket on your bucket list? The dollar buys 8.5% more Thai baht than a year ago. The greenback also buys 8.5% more Vietnamese dong and Indonesian rupiah, 6.2% more Malaysian ringgit and 5% more Taiwan dollars.

But far and away the Asian currency most impacted by the strong U.S. economy is the Japanese yen. Today one U.S. dollar buys 156.36 yen, 15% more than one year ago, and an eye-popping 43% more than five years ago.

The weak yen has helped propel Japan to be the most popular destination in Asia. In March 2024, the number of visitors to Japan exceeded three million foreign tourists in a single month for the first time ever, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). That was 69.5% more than the same month the previous year and 11.6% more compared to March 2019.

While the lion’s share of those visitors came from neighboring Asian countries, American travelers are also getting the memo. In March, a record 290,100 Americans visited Japan in a single month—a 42% jump year over year and a 64% increase compared to the same month in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, the weaker yen has goosed spending by vacationers whose money goes further than in decades. Foreign visitors to Japan spent 1.75 trillion yen ($11.2 billion) in the January to March period, according to data from the JNTO. That’s an increase of 52% compared to pre-pandemic 2019.

Japan is now so popular that it grabs 29% of all U.S.-based searches for trips to Asia and 8% of all international searches for the summer this year, according to the airfare-tracking site Hopper.

That huge demand has kept airfares ticking upward. For May departures, tickets from the U.S. to Japan are averaging $1,281 per ticket, up 4% from this time last year. Flights this summer are averaging $1,379 per ticket, up 2% from last year and up 26% from this time in 2019, according to Hopper data.

Meanwhile, additional supply is keeping airfare inflation in check as U.S. and Japanese airlines ramp up service between the two countries. Today about 60 flights leave the U.S. for Japan every day, 6% less than before the pandemic. Still, that’s a big improvement over this time last year, when only 49 daily flights were departing to Japanese destinations.

From June to August,