It was just a matter of time for corporate travelers to begin following a global trend in canceling their trip to the country that’s been crippled by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis at once. Japan is no longer an attractive business proposition – and the crisis there affects travel economies everywhere.
Travel companies from around the world reported cancellations of 60% up to 95% – and complained about the financial impact these had on their businesses. In the meanwhile, many corporations with large businesses in Japan are prohibiting trips to the country for all non-essential employees. This, after many governments from around the world begun evacuating their dependents las week, including the US State Department. The logic is simple: if state officials are evacuating, they must know something other travelers don’t.
For many corporations, since the tragedy that hit Japan, business has been really slow – no reason to go. Airlines had to go with the flow, many suspending flights to Tokyo, and others diverting flights to southern Japan, a region less affected by the crisis.
All these airlines, however, report full flights from Japan – which shouldn’t come as a surprise, as many Japanese citizens are leaving the country. In the meanwhile, the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines worldwide is worried that a shutdown in the Japanese aviation market could have a wider impact worldwide. For good reason: air traffic to and from Japan represents about 6.5% of global scheduled traffic. The big “losers” in this scenario would be China, Taiwan and South Korea, as they all earn over 20% of their international revenue from Japan travel.