A new study finds that amid a surge in inbound tourism, overtourism and a steadily weakening yen, there is a strong countercurrent taking Japanese travelers into the uncharted waters of solo travel.
According to market research agency Euromonitor International19.2% of Japanese tourists prefer to travel alone — more than in all 39 countries surveyed. Not only does Japan far exceed the global average preference for solo travel (just 7.2%), but domestic travelers are also much more likely to stay alone than those with siblings (8.8%) or parents (6.6%).
This year’s poll shows an increase of 10.4% of travelers traveling alone in 2019, while the global rate stagnated (7.0% in 2019). However, Japan is not just a country of solo travelers: 19.4% prefer to travel with friends, 29% with their children and 48.8% with their spouse or partner.
