Japan to subsidise visitors' holidays in effort to revive tourism
Tourists to Japan could soon be tucking into ramen and sushi, and buying souvenirs in the knowledge that a good portion of the bill will be picked up by the Japanese government.
Under an initiative that could come into effect within a couple of months, Japan is to provide subsidies to travellers in an attempt to breathe life into the country’s coronavirus-hit tourist industry.
Data released this week showed the number of overseas visitors decreased by more than 99% last month to fewer than 3,000 as a result of the pandemic, with the domestic travel severely curtailed by the country’s state of emergency.
The Go To Travel initiative will subsidise holidays up to ¥20,000 (£151) a day in the form of steep discounts and vouchers that can be used at local shops and restaurants, the Kyodo news agency said.
The scheme, which could begin in late July after coronavirus travel restrictions have eased, applies to domestic and international tourists who make bookings through Japanese travel agencies or directly with hotels and traditional ryokan inns.
People arriving from overseas, however, will have to meet the full cost of travelling to Japan.
The subsidies, totalling ¥1.35tn, are expected to form part of a second emergency budget the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, will unveil on Wednesday to help guide the world’s third-biggest economy through the economic crisis triggered by the coronavirus.
Tourism was critical to Abe’s growth plans before the pandemic, with the government setting an ambitious annual target of attracting 40 million foreign tourists by the end of this year and 60 million by 2030.
Hopes for a tourist-driven spending boom this summer were dashed after the virus’s global spread forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until next year.
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In addition, entry bans to Japan apply to more than 100 countries, including those, such as China, on which Japan relied for much of its income from tourism.
Just 2,900 people visited Japan last month, according to government data, down 99.9% on the same period last year.
Some of those restrictions could gradually ease in the coming weeks after Abe lifted the seven-week state of emergency on Monday following a marked fall in new cases of Covid-19 in Japan.
Restaurants, which had been asked to close at 8pm, will be able to stay open until 10pm, while museums and some other public spaces will reopen. Official advice to avoid travel between Japan’s 47 prefectures could be relaxed around mid-June.
Hotels and other sectors of the economy that depend on tourism have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. A survey by Tokyo Shoko Research found 31 companies in the accommodation sector had either declared or were preparing to file for bankruptcy in April.
Hotels in Kyoto, whose temples and shrines usually attract hordes of foreign tourists at this time of year, said the number of overseas guests in March had decreased 89.5% compared with the same month last year.
