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www.travelweekly-asia.com | 17 COVER STORY LAND OF THE RISING SINGLES Aya Aso: Eyeing the seniors market In Japan, the single traveller market is fast growing and new brands have popped up to cater to their individual needs. Trippiece, which is a social travel planning site, allows singles to plan trips together with like-minded indi- viduals. Ian Ishida, who started the business when he was a student and has since raised US$3 million to expand his brand to South-east Asia, says it was this trend his start-up wanted to tap into. "The single market – never married – is increasing," he said. "It is said that 15% of Japanese never marry, compared to three percent in 1973. That's why we created this new way of travelling – social travel – which is better than group travel." The single biggest growing market is what the Japanese call "Yoshi-Tabi" – single girls travelling together. "Single women travellers are increasing, women are more active than men." With Trippiece, 90% of his customers are single and they group not by age but by interest. "After travelling they become good friends. Young Japanese are also much more confident about travelling on their own, unlike their parents and grandparents." Agora Hospitalities is a new hotel brand targeted at a changing Japanese customer and inbound travellers looking for unique, authentic experiences. The property that has seen the highest rise in singles is Nojiriko Hotel ELBOSCO Shinanomachi, Nagano – because of its proximity to Tokyo, it is popular with young Japanese girls looking for a weekend retreat. According to the CEO, Aya Aso, the single market is growing and for her it's the seniors market, both male and female. Data from JTB Tourism Marketing 2013 shows the fastest growth in singlehood taking place after 65 years old. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Travel Weekly Asia_Oct_2014_pathed_PRINT.pdf 1 9/15/2014 3:35:06 PM Trippiece: A new social way of travelling