Travel agency JTB Corp. said Tuesday the number of Japanese traveling abroad during the yearend and New Year's holiday season is expected to fall 6.5 percent from a year earlier.
The number of people who plan to go abroad between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3 is estimated at 562,000, according to a JTB survey based on 2,200 customers' responses and airplane seat reservations.
JTB blamed the projected decline on severe acute respiratory syndrome. The number of Japanese traveling abroad during during the summer vacation season fell more than 20 percent.
It said the number of Japanese tourists is forecast to decline more than 20 percent for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan over the New Year's season.
The number of Japanese tourists headed to Europe is projected to rise 6.3 percent, and the figure for Hawaii is forecast to rise 4.3 percent from the previous year.
The number of people traveling within Japan is expected to remain virtually unchanged at 28.71 million, up 0.2 percent from a year earlier.