Is Generation Z's "Decline in Overseas Travel" Leading to a Diminished International Awareness?

Dentsu Inc. Desire Design (DDD) is an organization that develops solutions and disseminates information based on the relationship between consumption and desire.

Starting with the 21st installment, we analyze DDD's "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey," sharing insights and findings from the survey results.

This time, based on the findings from the 9th survey conducted in November 2024, DDD's Riko Ono examines the results focusing on the theme of young people's international awareness.

Hypothesis: Is there no correlation between overseas travel experience and declining international awareness?

In 2024, the number of foreign workers in Japan foreign workers in Japan increased to approximately 2.3 million , and the number of foreign visitors to Japan is increasing at a record pace. Within Japan, more cities are developing an international atmosphere.

On the other hand, as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, the number of Japanese citizens traveling abroad recovered to 13.01 million in 2024 , but have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. The passport ownership rate among Japanese citizens has fallen to 17%, or one in six people. We are increasingly seeing reports expressing concern about young people's disengagement from overseas travel and declining international awareness.

In reality, overseas travel has become increasingly difficult to afford, not just for young people but across all age groups, due to the weak yen and rising prices.

With the development of social media making information borderless and many foreigners now residing in Japan, we hypothesized that "not traveling abroad does not necessarily lead to a decline in international awareness among Generation Z" and proceeded with our survey.

While there is no strict definition, the group commonly referred to as "Generation Z" is generally aged 15 to 29 this year. Since this survey interviewed teenagers aged 15 to 19, for convenience, this article will collectively refer to those aged 15 to 29 as "Generation Z."

Gen Z's desire to travel abroad is not particularly low

While the weak yen and rising prices have raised the financial barrier for overseas travel, when asked "Would you be fine if you never traveled overseas for the rest of your life?", 60.1% of all respondents answered "Agree" or "Somewhat agree." This means more than one in two people would be fine never traveling overseas again. For Generation Z as a whole, this figure was 58.4%, similar to the overall population.Additionally, the proportion of those who "agree" tends to be lower compared to other age groups.

When asked about the near future, "I want to travel abroad within the next 2-3 years," the "Agree (Total)" response was 39.2% overall and 47.3% for Generation Z, higher than the overall result.

Gen Z does not have lower desire for overseas travel compared to other age groups; rather, their desire is higher than those in their 30s and older.

No borders in the SNS era!? For Gen Z, gaining an international perspective domestically is "easy"

Next, we'll introduce items related to international awareness.

55.7% of all respondents felt "the ability to interact with foreigners is necessary." Among Gen Z, this rose to 59.4%, with teenagers showing an especially high "agree" rate. Regarding the question "Japanese people will need the ability to thrive globally in the future," 76.7% of all respondents agreed, while 72.2% of Gen Z agreed.

These two points show that Gen Z also recognizes the need for Japanese people to become more international.

On the other hand, a characteristic feature among Generation Z was the mindset of "acquiring an international perspective while staying in Japan. "

Responses to the questions "It's easy to develop an international perspective while staying in Japan" and "It's easy to communicate with foreigners and people from overseas while staying in Japan" showed "Agree (total)" responses more than 10 percentage points higher than the overall average.

Among young people, events for interacting with foreigners and language learning apps have become commonplace. Perhaps young people unconsciously feel that an environment exists where they can develop an international perspective even while staying within Japan. Furthermore, since foreign cultures can be easily accessed on social media, even those without direct interaction with foreigners may find exposure to overseas information a part of their daily lives.

Even among those who feel "It's fine if I never go abroad in my lifetime," international awareness remains quite high!

So, does this mean Gen Z who answered "agree" to "I wouldn't mind if I never traveled abroad again" tend to have lower international awareness?

We categorized and compared Gen Z respondents who answered "Agree/Somewhat agree" to "I wouldn't mind never traveling abroad again" with those who answered "Disagree/Strongly disagree."

For this article, we'll refer to the former group as the "It's Fine If I Can't Go" group and the latter as the "I Want to Go" group. (Note: While data is omitted, there are virtually no differences in gender/age distribution or marital status ratios between these two groups).

First, surprisingly, we found that the "Don't Mind Not Going" group actually had a higher percentage of people who "feel the need for abilities to thrive globally." Furthermore, their recognition that "it's easy to develop an international perspective while staying in Japan" was also higher than that of the "Want to Go" group.

This suggests that even among the "It's fine if I never go" group, interest in overseas matters and motivation to develop an international perspective remain sufficiently high.

The "I don't mind never going abroad" group is efficiency-driven and averse to failure

Next, examining the "desire items" and "value items" underlying DDD's defined "11 modern desires" (*1), the "Don't Mind Not Going" group showed a "Agree (total)" score over 10 points higher than the "Want to Go" group on the following items:

• Items related to freedom, such as "Want to be free/don't want to be bound" and "Want to value my own time/want to avoid being disturbed"

• Items related toriskavoidance, such as "Want to avoid dangerous situations, failure, or loss"

• Items related to efficiency, such as "Want to do things well/Want to be efficient"

The "It's fine if I can't go" group appears to be a distinct segment exhibiting characteristics often associated with Generation Z : a strong emphasis on freedom, heightened cost-performance and time-performance awareness, and a strong aversion to risk and failure.

※1 For more details on the "11 Desires," please see here.
・ "Let's give these new desires a name." (Web Dentsu-ho)
・ DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN Announces 2024 Edition of "11 Desires" Influencing Human Consumption Behavior

As another feature, we present AB questions related to English acquisition.

Please indicate which of the following "attitudes and behaviors regarding life in general" is closest to your own.
【A】If simultaneous interpretation technology (translation AI) advances, it won't matter if you can't speak English.
【Ｂ】Even if simultaneous interpretation technology (translation AI) advances, I still want to be able to speak English

For this question, the "Don't Care If I Can't Go" group showed significantly higher responses of "Closer to A (Total)" compared to the "Want to Go" group.

Compared to the "Want to go" group, the "Don't mind not going" group seems to view English purely as a means to an end and may prioritize efficiency in "how to gain international awareness."

Overall, for the "It's fine if I can't go" group, "overseas travel" might seem poor value for money and time, and they may not feel it offers any compelling appeal worth the effort. They likely feel that if they can enjoy delicious food and live happily and securely in safe Japan, there's no need to take on the risk of potential failure by traveling abroad.

Indeed, the "Don't Mind Not Going" group scored significantly higher than the "Want to Go" group on items like "Want to eat/drink delicious things" and "Want to live peacefully and securely." Furthermore, the "Don't Mind Not Going" group also scored higher on the indicator "I consider myself happy." (Data presentation omitted within this article)

On the other hand, an unexpected characteristic of the "I'm fine not going" group is that they scored slightly higher than the "I want to go" group on items emphasizing social interaction and real experiences, such as "wanting to meet people and share experiences with friends" and "valuing real experiences over simulated ones."

This suggests that while they don't necessarily undervalue real experiences, the compelling appeal of overseas travel—justifying leaving the safety and comfort of Japan—is harder for them to grasp.

To entice the "It's fine if I can't go" group to travel abroad, it seems necessary to spark concrete interest in the experiences available locally.

While social media provides daily access to foreign cultures and interactions with foreigners are common, the key difference from overseas travel remains the absence of cultural experiences engaging all five senses, including the unique atmosphere of the destination.

If people could experience these sensory-rich experiences authentically within Japan, not just through screens, it might spark their interest in overseas travel.

For example, experiencing authentic cultures at overseas pavilions during the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo could potentially spark interest in overseas travel. Indeed, posts on X frequently highlight immersive experiential content and dining at these overseas pavilions.

Alternatively, as VR travel experiences continue to evolve, opportunities to spark interest may increase. According to the Cabinet Office's moonshot goals for 2050 state that "telepresence" technology will advance, enabling people to realistically experience a sense of being in a location through all five senses using cybernetic avatars (※2). This could make it possible to experience overseas travel with all five senses while remaining in Japan. Such "telepresence" experiences might then spark interest in actual overseas travel.

※2 Cybernetic Avatar: A "surrogate robot" that can be remotely operated and shares sensations just like one's own body

In conclusion, Gen Z's desire for overseas travel is not lower than other age groups. The majority feel the need to develop an international perspective and, compared to other generations, perceive it as easier to acquire this perspective while staying in Japan.

Furthermore, even within Generation Z, those who responded, "Even if I never travel abroad for the rest of my life, it's fine," seem to feel the need for international awareness among Japanese people more strongly and also believe it is easier to acquire international awareness while staying in Japan.

DDD intends to continue analyzing consumer attitudes and trends through its "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey."

<9th "Heart-Moving Consumption Survey" Overview>
・Target Area: Nationwide Japan
・Respondent Criteria: Ages 15–74
・Sample Size: 3,000 total samples (allocated according to population ratios for ages 15-19, 20s-60s, and 70-74)
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Period: November 8 (Fri) to November 13 (Wed), 2024
・Survey Sponsor: Dentsu Inc. DENTSU DESIRE DESIGN
Survey Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.