A Fresh Approach To Promote “Self Drive Tours”

First introduced in September 2007, the “Self Drive Tour” package, a joint product by JTB and NEXCO-Central (Central Nippon Expressway Co.Ltd) has caught large attention in Japan. The package is a combination of JTB’s accommodation line-up and NEXCO-Central’s expressway discount services planned for ETC* users. Packages are now on sale at JTB branches in Aichi, Gifu, Shizuoka and Mie Prefectures. They are also offered at JTB and NEXCO-Central websites. The product aims to achieve the sales amount accommodating 1,000 vehicles and 3,000 participants during the October-December period in 2007.

Traveling by private vehicle accounts for more than 50% of Japan’s domestic travel (1), however, sales of travel products highlighting self driving has usually experienced difficulties in the Japanese market. Therefore, the development of self drive tour package does reflect the travel companies’ obvious intention to enter into the self drive travel market.

In the meantime, Japan’s expressway companies such as NEXCO-Central expect to increase ETC users by offering discounts, in order to ease traffic jams at toll booths. Although the weekly average of ETC users in October 2007 comprised more than 70%, the weekend or public holiday average saw a lower 64% (2), meaning that there are more private vehicles with less ETC usage on the road. For the expressway companies, the subject in concern is to increase ETC users driving private vehicles on weekends.

The introduction of the new travel product is a result of the collaboration in the travel industry and expressway company: the former expects to sell more accommodations to self driving customers and the latter intends to increase the ETC usage on private vehicles.

In April 2007, the organization “Nippon Road Destinations” was established by tourism associations, travel companies and motor vehicle related companies in Japan. The organization aims to promote self drive travel by developing systems to provide information on self drive travel and to offer related services to consumers. As these kinds of measures by almost the entire tourism related industry was not common previously, the current movement to promote self drive travel can become a large factor to boost up the domestic travel market in Japan. New product development in collaboration with the expressway company like the “Self Drive Tour” may raise large opportunities for the tourism related industry to achieve a new travel market in Japan.

*ETC–electronic toll collection system.

Sources:
(1) “Market Insight 2007–Trends of the Japanese Overseas Travel Market” by JTB Foundation
(2) The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport