London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/23/2011 -- Travellers around the world are showing support for the the Japanese tourism industry following the earthquake. New figures from a recent survey by Hotels.com show that more than 60% of respondents worldwide are open to visiting the country.

Japan ranked in the top three favourite global destination for more than half of respondents world wide, with the majority prefering a visit to Tokyo. Eighty-six percent of respondents also stated they would consider a trip to Japan within the next year.

Flight and hotel costs were an important factors, with almost 70 percent said that they would visit Japan now if the prices are right. Japanese food, culture and sights were also important motivations.

Hideki Yokoyama, Senior Director, Tourism Division, Bureau of Industrial and Labour Affairs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, said: "I feel very encouraged that so many people in the survey by Hotels.com, indicated that they are willing to travel to Japan. I hope that everyone can visit Japan and experience the best of Tokyo's fantastic hospitality which never changes. I would also like to see that the whole of Japan is working together for a quick recovery. Please feel free to visit Japan now or in the near future. "

"It's great to see that the intention to travel to Japan despite the recent natural disasters continues to exist and further that it was named as a favourite destination," said Johan Svanstrom,l Vice President and General Manager of Hotels.com Asia Pacific. "Much of Japan is open for business, and it is very important that the global travel industry supports its operators and hotels."

Note to Editors

* Hotels.com's research was conducted in July 2011 among over 500 travellers from 17 countries including Australia, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

About Hotels.com
As part of the Expedia, Inc. group which operates in all major markets, Hotels.com, the global hotel specialist, offers more than 135,000 quality hotels, B&Bs and serviced apartments worldwide and operates more than 75 Hotels.com sites around the world. Hotels.com benefits from one of the world's largest hotel contracting teams in the industry, negotiating the best rates for its customers. Travellers can book hotel online or by contacting one of the multilingual call centres.