*Overseas travel transactions were nearly up 60% for the first half

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Travel Promotion Divisionreported on November 11 that overseas travel transactions of fifty major travel agents totaled 1,258.9 billion yen for the first halfof FY2004 (April to September 2004), 59.2% more than a year ago. Foreigner-inbound travel transactions also increased by 49.9% to 20.6billion yen, but domestic travel transactions slightly decreased by2.5% to 1,682.8 billion yen for the first half of FY2004, as compared with a year ago. The total reached 2,961.4 billion yen for the first half of FY2004, 17.0% more than a year ago.

This Week Headline
*Overseas travel transactions were nearly up 60% for the first half
*Travel consumptions for FY2003 reached 23.8 trillion yen
*The deregulation allows more Chinese tourists to visit Japan
*JAL ensured net profit for the first half of FY2004
*ANA also raises its domestic airfares to survive the high fuel price
*Haneda-Kimpo charter flights are widely acknowledged through a year
*Skymark is positive to merge Air Do
*A new Russia airline hopes to operate scheduled flights for Japan