Looking at the Golden Week travel trends announced by various travel agencies, the travel market is generally showing signs of favorable conditions. Both domestic and overseas travel is expected to rise, driven by favorable dates and rising incomes. It looks like it will be a "warm spring" for the industry. According to JTB's Golden Week (April 25th - May 5th) travel trend forecast (see table in Travel News April 25th issue), the total number of travelers going on trips of one night or more is 24.43 million, up 1.0% from last year. Although it is a slight increase from last year, it is expected to increase in terms of expenses. This year's Golden Week is divided into three-day and four-day holidays, and if you take time off in between, it can be up to nine days off, which is a suitable date arrangement for travel. As for the economic situation, many major companies are increasing their base pay due to the good performance of listed companies, and in the company's survey, the number of people who said "income is higher than last year" increased by 8.2% from last year, so consumers' wallets seem to be "warm." Although there has been no significant change in travel expenditures or travel motivation, the results showed that "I don't mind spending money on things I like, such as hobbies and travel" was higher among those in their teens to forties, and "I'd rather spend money on experiences and making memories than buying things" was higher among those in their thirties and forties, so the company believes that many people are using their increased income and longer vacations to travel. The number of people traveling domestically increased by 1.0% to 23.84 million people. The number of trips is slightly longer, with one night and two days decreasing slightly and two nights and three days increasing by 8.7%, and the average cost has increased by 1.7% to 36,200 yen. The number of people traveling with children is expected to increase among younger generations. Based on the reservation situation at Ace JTB, Tohoku, Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku are popular. Attention is also being paid to Tokyo and Kanto, where plans to stay at famous inns, the 35th anniversary of Tokyo Disney Resort and Tokyo Midtown Hibiya are attracting attention. The number of people traveling overseas increased by 0.7% to 585,000 people. With the three-day and four-day weekends, it is likely that the number of people will increase as it becomes easier to go to nearby Asian destinations. Based on the booking status of Look JTB, Asian destinations such as Hawaii, Taiwan, and Singapore, as well as long-distance destinations such as Italy and France, are popular. Domestic travel from Kansai has exceeded last year's figures, while overseas travel is on par with last year's figures. The destination with the most bookings is Tokyo Disney Resort, followed by Okinawa and Kyushu. The growth rate is in the order of Arima and Awaji in Hyogo Prefecture, Hokuriku, and Tokyo Disney Resort. For overseas travel, the order is Hawaii, Guam, and Taiwan, the same as last year. There is a noticeable increase in European destinations such as France, Central and Eastern Europe, and Germany. ◇Japan Travel calculated the ranking of popular destinations for Golden Week based on year-on-year changes in bookings. For domestic travel, the top three are Kansai in first place, the Tokyo metropolitan area in second place, and Kanto in third place. The growth rate is in the order of Kanto, Hokuriku, and Shinetsu. This year, due to the three-day and four-day weekends, nearby destinations are popular. In the top-ranked Kansai region, Wakayama Prefecture's Nanki Shirahama and Hyogo Prefecture's Kinosaki Onsen are both doing well, with many facilities having been renovated following the completion of earthquake-resistance renovation work. The second-placed Tokyo metropolitan area is thanks to a wealth of topics, including the 35th anniversary of Tokyo Disney Resort. In third-place Kanto, Tochigi Prefecture, which is currently hosting a destination campaign, is popular. For overseas travel, the top five countries in terms of number of travelers are Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Italy, with nearby Asian countries again taking the top spots. The growth rates are in the US mainland, followed by Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Thailand.