OSAKA -- More than one in 10 domestic passengers flying to Kansai International Airport are visitors to Osaka's Universal Studios Japan, according to a survey recently released by the airport authority.
The survey, conducted over a period of three days in August on around 1,100 passengers, revealed that 13 percent of domestic passengers used the airport primarily to visit USJ, the Hollywood studio's first theme park outside the United States that opened in March.
The survey found that 17 percent of domestic passengers said they would like to fly to the airport to visit the theme park in the future, while 92 percent said they know of the park.
Among international passengers, 60 percent of respondents indicated they knew of the theme park, but only 3 percent said they used the airport to visit it. On future visits to USJ, 21 percent said they would like to use the airport.
"There were unexpected high rates, even given the summer vacation period. We can expect a further increase in passengers," a Kansai International Airport Co. spokesman said.
The results indicate good news for the offshore airport, which has seen a number of international airlines withdraw because of generally sluggish demand for business travel in the region.
USJ Co., the operator of the park, said Jan. 7 that more than 9 million people have visited the park since its opening and that the total is expected to top 10 million by early February, beating Tokyo Disneyland in terms of total opening year attendance.