Japanese Domestic Travel Spending Hits ¥5.98 Trillion in Q1 2026, Up 6.0% Year on YearA · FULL TRANSLATION
- This is the first instalment of our fixed quarterly series on Japanese domestic travel spending. Q1 2026 spending reached ¥5,982.2bn, up 6.0% year on year
- Overnight trips accounted for ¥4,884.8bn (+6.8%) and day trips ¥1,097.4bn (+2.9%); overnight travel is 81.7% of the total
- Total trips were 121.0m (+0.9%): 68.1m overnight (+2.3%) and 52.9m day trips (-0.8%) — volume barely moved while spending rose 6%
- By month: January ¥1,879.1bn (+10.2%), February ¥1,596.5bn (-0.5%), March ¥2,506.7bn (+7.5%)
- Against Q1 2024's ¥4,889.4bn, spending is up 22.3% over two years, though Q4 2025 did post a 2.5% decline
This is the first instalment of our fixed quarterly series tracking the Japan Tourism Agency's survey of domestic travel and tourism consumption. Each period will use the same indicators and the same charts, compared directly against the previous quarter.
Japanese domestic travel spending reached ¥5,982.2bn in the January-March 2026 quarter (second preliminary), up 6.0% year on year. Overnight travel accounted for ¥4,884.8bn (+6.8%) and day trips ¥1,097.4bn (+2.9%). Overnight travel is 81.7% of the total and grew at more than twice the rate of day trips.
Volume tells the other half of the story. Total trips reached 121.0m, up just 0.9%, split between 68.1m overnight (+2.3%) and 52.9m day trips (-0.8%). Traveller numbers barely moved while spending rose 6% — the growth came from higher spend per trip, not more travellers. For lodging operators that is a more fragile kind of growth, far more sensitive to prices and consumer confidence than growth driven by footfall.
By month: January ¥1,879.1bn (+10.2%), February ¥1,596.5bn (-0.5%) and March ¥2,506.7bn (+7.5%). February was the only month to decline, with overnight spending down 2.4%.
Over two years, Q1 spending has run ¥4,889.4bn (2024), ¥5,641.9bn (2025) and ¥5,982.2bn (2026), a cumulative gain of 22.3%. The path is not one-way: the October-December 2025 quarter fell 2.5% year on year, the first quarterly decline since 2023. These are second preliminary figures; the first preliminary for April-June is due on 19 August 2026.
Japan Tourism Agency, 31 July 2026 — Travel and Tourism Consumption Trend Survey, January-March 2026 (second preliminary). Summary translation:
Headline: domestic travel spending in the January-March 2026 quarter was ¥5,982.2bn.
Japanese domestic travel spending in the January-March 2026 quarter was ¥5,982.2bn, up 6.0% year on year. Of this, overnight travel spending was ¥4,884.8bn (+6.8%) and day-trip spending was ¥1,097.4bn (+2.9%).
Quarterly series (¥bn; total / overnight / day trip): Q1 2024 4,889.4 (+14.9%) / 3,869.9 (+11.7%) / 1,019.6 (+28.9%). Q2 2024 6,404.1 (+14.1%) / 5,075.6 (+14.7%) / 1,328.5 (+11.7%). Q3 2024 7,387.4 (+15.5%) / 6,065.9 (+14.3%) / 1,321.5 (+20.9%). Q4 2024 6,472.7 (+14.7%) / 5,321.2 (+15.6%) / 1,151.5 (+10.6%). Q1 2025 5,641.9 (+15.4%) / 4,575.8 (+18.2%) / 1,066.1 (+4.6%). Q2 2025 6,745.3 (+5.3%) / 5,243.3 (+3.3%) / 1,502.0 (+13.1%). Q3 2025 8,085.2 (+9.4%) / 6,762.5 (+11.5%) / 1,322.7 (+0.1%). Q4 2025 6,312.1 (-2.5%) / 5,139.5 (-3.4%) / 1,172.6 (+1.8%). Q1 2026 (second preliminary) 5,982.2 (+6.0%) / 4,884.8 (+6.8%) / 1,097.4 (+2.9%).
Monthly spending (¥bn): Q1 2024 January 1,460.1, February 1,455.5, March 1,973.9. Q1 2025 1,705.3 / 1,604.5 / 2,332.1. Q1 2026 (second preliminary) 1,879.1 / 1,596.5 / 2,506.7. Year-on-year by month: +10.2% / -0.5% / +7.5% overall; +12.8% / -2.4% / +8.6% for overnight travel; -0.9% / +7.7% / +2.5% for day trips.