Book early and save, Japan travel agencies say

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TOKYO -- Travel companies in Japan are letting customers book as much as a year in advance to lock in lower airfares and ensure hotel room availability as global travel demand climbs.

ANA Holdings unit ANA Sales will begin this month letting customers book flexible packages combining airfare and lodging up to 355 days in advance for certain destinations, compared with the current 300-day cutoff. Trips to popular honeymoon destination Hawaii will be eligible, as will European packages popular with senior citizens. Cancellation is free up to 30 days before a trip in most cases.

Booking early increases chances for savings on airfare and other elements of a trip. Getting the cheapest seat possible on a round-trip economy flight to Hawaii, for example, can shave up to 60,000 yen ($561) off the total cost.

Affordable packages from Japan Airlines unit Jalpak going on sale in August will be available for booking through March 2017, two months farther out than before. JTB's end-of-year packages went on sale in mid-May, around two months earlier than is typical.

Nippon Travel Agency now offers discounts of up to 30,000 yen for early booking of summer family packages, 10,000 yen more than before. A stronger yen and lower or nonexistent fuel surcharges by airlines have given the agency room to cut prices. Channeling part of these savings into discounts for early booking is aimed at addressing the growing difficulty of obtaining reservations in the first place.

Travelers from China and elsewhere have begun heading abroad in greater numbers, increasing competition for hotel rooms and seats on flights. More than 100 million Chinese traveled overseas in 2014, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. That figure grew another 10% in 2015. Of travelers JTB surveyed in 2015, 59% reported difficulty finding flight and hotel reservations on short notice.

Airlines are also keeping closer track of price and ticket demand to maximize profitability through direct sales. This could be behind complaints from travel companies that locking down seats has become more difficult.

The value of Japanese travel companies' overseas bookings fell for the third year running in fiscal 2015 in light of a weaker yen and last November's terror attacks in Paris, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. But a stronger yen and lower fuel charges are now putting new wind in the industry's sales, pushing companies to reinvigorate overseas operations and improve customer satisfaction by encouraging travelers to plan ahead.

(Nikkei)


Source: Book early and save, Japan travel agencies say

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