The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Foreign tourists increasingly being accepted back into Japan
Foreign tourists are increasingly being accepted back into Japan, starting with package tours in June. With no signi cant problems reported so far, hopes have been high that independent travel will resume in the days ahead.
But amid the “seventh wave” of coronavirus infections, it has become more and more uncertain whether the government’s border controls will be eased.
e path toward a full- edged recovery in foreign tourism remains thorny.
NO TROUBLES REPORTED
“I’m going to travel around local festivals, including the Gion Festival in Kyoto and those in the Tohoku region, for the next 45 days. I also look forward to enjoying some hot springs,” a 59-year-old man from Hong Kong said happily at Kansai Airport on July 15.
e man is fond of Japan and used to visit four or ve times a year — he said it was hard to be kept away for two years due to the pandemic. Regarding the seventh wave of infections, he said, “Japanese people conscientiously wear masks, so I’m not worried.”
On June 10, the government resumed procedures for accepting foreign tourists for the rst time in two years,
though only for people coming on package tours and accompanied by a tour guide. ere were concerns about whether foreign tourists would abide by the requirement to constantly wear a mask.
“So far, we haven’t received any reports about foreign tourists who tested positive [during their trip] or caused problems in a local community,” Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Koichi Wada said at a press conference on July 20.
Tourism-related industries were hit heavily by the marked decline in foreign tourists entering Japan and are making e orts to bring them in.
In July and August, Japan Airlines plans to resume ights or increase the number of
ights on ve of its routes, including the Kansai-Honolulu route. All Nippon Airways will do likewise on nine routes.
e South Korean government announced on July 19 that it would increase the weekly round trips between Haneda and Seoul from eight to a maximum of 28, starting on Monday onward.
Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide Inc. has had foreign tourists staying at its hotels in Tokyo this month. Bookings for overnight stays from next month and beyond have also begun at its hotels in resort areas, such as Karuizawa and Hakone, both close to the Tokyo metropolitan area. Expectations have been growing for future increases.
BORDER CONTROLS
However, this is far from a full- edged recovery.
e Japan National Tourism Organization said in a report released on July 20 that June saw 120,400 inbound tourists, including foreign students who are to study in Japan. is is only about 4% of the record high of 2.88 million registered in June 2019, as the entry of foreigners to Japan is currently limited to 20,000 a day.
According to JTA, about 80% of all foreign tourists coming to Japan in 2019 arranged airplane tickets and hotel reservations by themselves.
Kanako Uchimura, a researcher at Japan Research Institute, Ltd., pointed out, “As long as there are restrictions on the movements of tourists in package tours, the recovery in the number of foreign visitors will be limited.”
ere have been numerous calls from the tourism industry to ease border controls, including the requirement that foreign nationals submit a negative test result for COVID-19 before departure.
“Japan is one of the only countries in the world with such strict requirements. It should respond more in line with the global trends,” said Hiroyuki Takahashi, chairperson of the Japan Association of Travel Agents and the chairperson of JTB Corp. (July 26)