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JATA Independent Surveys

(April 19, 2006) 2006 Overseas Package Tour Actual Results for January to March Status of Bookings for April to June (Five Package Tour Travel Agencies) Headline (Passenger base: %) Actual Results for January to March - Sales got off to a slow start in January and February, but were comparatively brisk in March, exceeding last year's results for all four destination regions U.S. Mainland and Canadian destinations: 108.9% (March); Hawaii: 109.7% (March); European destinations: 107.0% (March); Asian destinations: 114.3% (March) [Compared to results for the previous year] - Asian destinations recovering Asian destinations: 87.8% (January), 107.6% (February), 114.3% (March) [Compared to results for the previous year] - China appeared to be moving out of its slump, showing signs of renewed travel Chinese destinations: 67.3% (January), 66.7% (February), 82.8% (March) [Compared to results for the previous year] Status of Bookings for April to June - Thanks to the favorable sequence of days off during the Golden Week holidays, bookings for May were brisk All Destinations: 104.5% (May) [Compared to results for the previous year] Overseas Package Tour Actual Results and Status of Bookings by Destination (Five Package Tour Travel Agencies) 2006 Results Comparison Booking Levels (Year-on-year comparisons from early April) Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June U.S. and Canada 91.8% 87.8% 108.9% 78.5% 92.5% 97.8% Hawaii 93.5% 93.7% 109.7% 96.8% 92.1% 84.9% Guam and Saipan 99.1% 99.7% 97.2% 89.4% 98.1% 91.8% Europe 95.4% 105.1% 107.0% 95.9% 109.6% 96.5% Oceania 97.8% 91.5% 95.8% 87.9% 107.6% 110.2% Asia 87.8% 107.6% 114.3% 89.8% 121.6% 98.3% China 67.3% 66.7% 82.8% 69.6% 94.7% 77.6% Total 90.9% 97.3% 105.7% 91.3% 104.5% 94.3% (Passenger base: %) Results Comparison from January to February (Five Package Tour Travel Agencies) Status of Bookings for April through June 2006 (Five Package Tour Travel Agencies) Agencies surveyed JTB Corp., Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Ltd., Nippon Travel Agency Co., Ltd., Jalpak Co., Ltd., Hankyu Express International Co., Ltd. In order to grasp future overseas travel trends by destination, each quarter the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) conducts a survey of overseas packages tours offered at five package tour travel agencies. For this survey, the actual results for each month from October through December were compared with the total overseas sales at five package tour travel agencies for all of 2005 and for the October-December 2005 period. The status of bookings for January to March 2006 were compared with the same period for 2005. This survey was conducted at the beginning of January 2006. Actual Results for January to March With the start of the student travel season in February, European destinations exceeded last year's results. March results topped the preceding year for all four destination regions. In addition, the Asian region showed significant signs of recovery, after languishing due to the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami disaster and terrorist attacks in Bali last October. The region's performance in February and March exceeded 2005 results. The China market, which has been sluggish since anti-Japan demonstrations last year, appeared to be showing signs of revival, although results did not exceed those for the same period in 2005. Status of Bookings for April to June May bookings were strong thanks to the favorable sequence of consecutive holidays in April and early May during this year's Golden Week. Although the status of bookings at the beginning of April was down from the same period last year, May bookings were up over the previous year. Bookings for the nearby Asian destinations were particularly brisk, resulting in bookings greatly exceeding the previous year. Please direct any inquires or comments concerning the above to the JATA Public Relations Department TEL: 03-3592-1244FAX: 03-3592-1268 back to the previous page Copyright(c) 2006 Japan Association of Travel Agents. All rights reserved.