Japan Bound

The Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) Tourism Committee compiled requests for tourism recovery in Japan, including effective operation of ‘Go To Travel’ and extension of the program.

This is the story that I, as Travel Voice reporter, experienced the first overseas coverage for Hawaii in the past two years and a half. I found that there were still a lot of challenges for outbound travel from Japan or inbound travel to Japan. Unreasonable procedures waited for me when I arrived in Japan.

Kouraku Japan, a marketing company for Chinese high-end consumers, broadcasted a virtual tourism tour combined with live e-commerce for Kagoshima Prefecture on Alibaba Group’s ‘Fliggy,’

Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida officially announced that the current border restrictions will gradually be eased on March 1, adding that the most severe level among G7 nations will be maintained.

JNTO announced results of its research on how Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics affected foreign people’s willingness to visit Japan, and ‘higher value-added travel,’ ‘sustainable tourism’ and ‘adventure tourism’ as its promotional focuses.

How did foreign media in Japan see Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in the last summer? Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB) issued a summarized report.

The number of international arrivals in Japan in 2021 was 245,900, down 94% over 2020 (4,115,828) or down 99.2% over pre-COVID-19 2019 (31,882,049), according to JNTO.

According to JTB Tourism Research & Consulting survey, the ratios of people who have been motivated to visit Japan by Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were 6% in China, 30.2% in U.K. and 26.7% in Australia.

JR EAST launched ‘JR TIMES,’ an travel information site exclusively for Taiwanese travelers for the future, offering a cross-border EC function to sell limited local products in Japan.

The number of international arrivals in Japan in November 2021 was 20,700 only, 63.5% fewer than a year ago. Omicron variant has forced the Japanese government to suspend the deregulations for a month at least.

The number of international visitors to Japan in October 2021 was 22,100 only even though the Japanese government has eased entry restrictions for vaccinated international visitors since October.

The Japanese government has shortened the quarantine days for vaccinated business persons to three days and restarted accepting new international students and technical trainees since November 8 2021.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is addressing sustainable tourism in Japan more seriously from standpoints of protecting and cultivating ‘environment,’ ‘culture’ and ‘economy’ in local communities, particularly focusing on the European market.

The number of international visitors to Japan in September 2021 reduced again to 17,700 from 51,000 in July and 26,000 in August because Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics ended.

Yoshiharu Hoshino, Hoshino Resorts CEO, talked about the current business condition and the future business at ‘Hoshino Resorts LIVE 2021 Autumn.' He said international travelers to Japan would not come back easily .

Shizuoka Prefecture will organize a virtual event ‘Mt. Fuji Drone Challenge in Asagiri’ for Singaporean to control a drone remotely to experience tourism attractions virtually.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) will organize ‘VISIT JAPAN Travel Mart 2021’ for the inbound travel market as a full online event from March 1 to 3 2022, joined by 70 overseas buyers and 70 domestic sellers.

The number of international visitors to Japan was 51,100 in July 2021, a Tokyo Olympics month, increasing by five times from 9,300 in June: 6,100 from U.S., 3,900 from China, 3,400 from U.K., 2,500 from France and 2,200 from Germany.

The number of international travelers to Japan was 9,300 in June 2021, plunging below 10,000 for the first time since February 2021, down 99.7% compared to two years ago (2,880,041 visitors).

For locked Olympic and Paralympic athletes, a website operator for inbound travelers serves online tours in cooperation with about 150 interpreter tour guides nationwide.