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High-end tour packages big in Japan

March 30, 2006 |

Overseas travel has long ceased to be a luxury in Japan, where many people take advantage of the plethora of discount air tickets and package tours for quick trips abroad. But the travel industry is once again focusing on the big profits to be had from pedaling high-end tour packages.

Overseas travel has long ceased to be a luxury in Japan, where many people take advantage of the plethora of discount air tickets and package tours for quick trips abroad.

But the travel industry is once again focusing on the big profits to be had from pedaling high-end tour packages.

One major player in the business, H.I.S. Co., already appears to be profiting by catering to customers with a taste for extravagance.

“We hope to tap further into the demand from wealthy tourists,” said Hideyasu Umetani, who is in charge of the new operations focusing on wealthy travelers.

After a recession that has lasted well over a decade, the economy finally seems to be coming out of the woods. That process, however, has set in motion a subtle shift in the nation’s socioeconomic landscape that many think is widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

Against this background, affluent consumers have again emerged as the primary target of travel agencies, which are introducing an expanding array of expensive tour packages.

Get the full story at The Japan Times

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