TOKYO — Nearly two and a half years after introducing the world’s toughest pandemic-related border controls, Japan on Thursday welcomes most tourists next month as it seeks to revitalize its once-lucrative travel industry. He then announced
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said on October 11 Japan will lift restrictions on the number of arrivals per day and begin accepting tourists. move freely across the country.
“People from all over the world have been asking when we can travel to Japan,” Kishida said at the reception, according to public broadcaster NHK. “Now I hope they make plans to visit Japan and taste Japanese cuisine.”
The announcement comes as two other major Asian holdouts are also moving to lift some of their last border restrictions. It said it will end the mandatory three-day quarantine for visitors by. Hong Kong is set to announce similar measures on Friday, the biggest move towards coexistence with Covid-19.
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Japan quickly closed its borders, keeping out virtually everyone who was not a citizen. However, the reopening of borders has been a lengthy process and has been phased in after nearly every other major country has fully reopened.
The decision to open the border comes as coronavirus cases in Japan plunge to their lowest number in months and the country’s currency is at its weakest level against the dollar in nearly a quarter century. .
While the yen’s plunge is hard on domestic consumers, the government hopes Japan will become an attractive destination for bargain-seeking tourists. On Friday, the yen fell more than 20% from last year, but hovered around 142 yen to the dollar.
Over the past decade, international tourism has become an increasingly important industry for Japan. Originally he was scheduled for August 2020, but the trip to Japan was greatly expedited for the Tokyo Olympics, which will be held in a year’s time.
According to government data, more than 30 million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2019. That’s about three times what he was six years ago.
When the pandemic hit, the country effectively banned all international travel, making it nearly impossible to obtain a visa for any purpose, including business. Expats have found themselves locked out for months, separating couples and families.
The country has begun a provisional reopening after vaccinations become available. Travel restrictions for business trips and study have been resumed this spring. However, tourism was largely limited to those on tightly controlled package tours.
Business leaders have called for the government to fully reopen, arguing that Japan is hurting itself by falling behind the seven developed countries in lifting restrictions, but polls show a tough border. government officials were slow to move.
Some critics said the government’s decision to maintain restrictions was based on politics rather than science, and warned that Japan was mired in the kind of isolation that characterized earlier periods in its history.
Now, the reopening could unleash a flood of pent-up travel demand, delivering a much-needed shock to the country’s hard-hit travel and hospitality sector.
However, inbound tourism is unlikely to approach pre-pandemic levels anytime soon. Chinese tourists, who accounted for about 30% of inbound tourism in 2019, have severely restricted their ability to travel under Beijing’s strict anti-Covid policies. It is the last major country to close to
Domestically, Kishida said, Japan plans to encourage tourism by offering government-subsidized discounts to Japanese residents for hotels, restaurants, and certain forms of entertainment. It is the revival of a plan known as “Go to Travel,” which was put in place by Japanese traveler Yoshihide Suga to help domestic tourism that was swept away early in the pandemic.
Travelers wishing to enter Japan must prove that they have received three doses of the coronavirus vaccine or have taken a negative test at least 72 hours before departing for Japan.
Hisako Ueno contributed to the report.