It’s enough to send foreigners like me straight to Google Flights.
Half price holidays for foreigners
The boss of the Japan Tourism Agency, Hiroshi Tabata, told a media event on Wednesday that he’d developed a subsidy plan costing $12.5 billion to entice travelers back to Japan, commencing as soon as July.
To be clear, it’s a plan and not set in concrete yet, and precise details are vague, but The Japan Times says the agency is looking at paying half the travel costs of foreigners to come to Japan.
There’s no word on how it would be paid or what the criteria and exclusions are. Alas, there is no guarantee they’ll cover half the cost of ANA first class and the Park Hyatt in Tokyo.
Method to this proposed cash splash
It sounds like a good deal, but there’s a method to this significant cash splash.
Japan had an interesting response to the CV-19 pandemic. They were much slower than many other countries to close their borders, partly because the Olympics were scheduled to run there this year.
But by April, Japan was moving on this front and began banning visitors from many (but not all) countries. But by this stage, the demand for travel had collapsed in any case, and scores of airlines had slashed flights to and from Japan.
The result was that only 2,900 inbound visitors landed in Japan in April. Last year, 31.9 million visitors poured into the popular North Asian country. This year, on the back of the Olympics, Japan was expecting 40 million visitors.
It’s a radical reversal for a country that was often squeezed by excess numbers of travelers and was gearing up for the quadrennial sporting event.
The Olympics have been rescheduled to 2021, and everyone’s crossing their fingers borders will be re-opened and travel resumed by then.
Japan’s airlines have slashed their international services
Inbound travel has long been a significant contributor to Japan’s stagnant economy, and the Japanese Government is keen to start banking revenue from the sector again.
But major local airlines Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have radically curtailed their international schedules in recent months. Japan Airlines has cut its international services by 96% until the end of June. It is running a handful of flights to Chicago, Vancouver, Los Angeles, London, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Manila, Dalian, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Kaohsiung.
All Nippon Airways has also slashed most of its international flying. It is running a barebones schedule to Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Vancouver, Mexico City, London, and Frankfurt.
Most international airlines normally flying in Japan have suspended their services there. Today, at usually busy Narita Airport, there are just a handful of international arrivals and departures amid scores of cancellations.
Japanese Government cautious but keen to revive inbound travel
The Japanese Government is keen to get more flights operating and to see them fill up. And while border controls remain tight, Japan is looking at easing entry restrictions on foreign nationals.
A timeframe isn’t yet in place, but there are reports the lucrative business and student markets could be targeted first, with the tourist market coming after.
With the Japanese Government rightly being cautious about lifting entry restrictions, Hiroshi Tabata’s July start date for half price holidays could be overly optimistic.