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Japan’s long-suffering tourism sector sees a light at the end of the tunnel as “self-guided” tours give way to full-fledged trips.
After false starts, Japan will fully reopen its borders to tourism next month after more than two years of strict COVID-19 border restrictions. According to local media, the daily access limit for new arrivals, which was over 50,000 earlier this month. , will be scrapped to make way for the pre-pandemic tourist visa waiver system, which would first be available in 68 countries.
Under existing COVID-19 border restrictions, foreign hikers will be required to download a short-term visa and set up their flights, itinerary, accommodation, and car rental in advance through an identified company. The Japanese government has waived mandatory pre-flight COVID-19 testing on the condition that visitors are triple-vaccinated. It also removed the requirement for hikers to enter the country through a carefully monitored tour package with a licensed Japanese tour guide.
Although the current scenario is an improvement in terms of allowing independence, persistent restrictions on flexible and spontaneous activities have been criticised by experts as useless in helping the sluggish tourism sector return to pre-pandemic levels. It may also dissuade tourists from opting for Japan as a destination, and perhaps heading to Europe, which is currently turning to tourism.
In recent months, border restrictions have eased at an unprecedented speed. The daily access limit for new arrivals was increased from 5,000 to 20,000 in June, and then more than doubled to 50,000 on Sept. 7. Last week, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he planned to align Japan’s COVID-19 restrictions with those of other G-7 countries and continuously ease restrictions while tracking COVID-19 infections. At a press conference, Kishida said: “Our fight against the virus is not simple, but there is no need to be afraid to draw attention to the Omicron variant. He also explained that he was looking for tourists to “take advantage of the weakness of the Japanese yen. “
The Japanese government has been under immense pressure from the foreign network to remove barriers to Array. It is the only G7 country that still imposes restrictions on arrivals. However, the government has been reluctant to fully disclose its goal of opening the border to foreign tourists. Although the government has shown its goal of resuming the pre-pandemic situation this year, it has been reluctant to give a timetable. Kishida said border restrictions will continue to be eased “as soon as possible,” leaving local businesses in tourist hotspots on tenterhooks and uncertain whether to prepare for a surge of consumers this fall. The lack of details also makes it difficult for tourists to determine whether they deserve to do so now or come later, when restrictions are fully lifted.
Despite the slow easing of border restrictions, there has been no uptick in the number of tourists arriving in Japan. In June, fewer than 300 foreign tourists entered Japan under the questionable package requirement. The following month, fewer than 8,000 tourists entered Japan.
A local company that rents kimonos to tourists in the bustling tourist domain of Asakusa said its sales had partially fallen compared to 2019. Although it welcomed foreign visitors two months after the borders opened to tourists, no reservations were made for the rest. of the year. Experts warn that there will be no recovery in tourism without a full reopening of tourism.
Despite a record seventh wave of COVID-19 infections this summer, Japan has turned its attention to economic recovery and “living with COVID-19. “The central government is more focused on preventing coronavirus-related deaths than spreading infections. As part of the change, they are contemplating removing mandatory reporting of any and all COVID-19 infections in hospitals to ease the administrative burden on frontline physicians and allow them to spend more time with patients.
Currently, doctors are legally required to report all positive COVID-19 checks to public gyms. Until last year, it was a handwritten procedure that had to be faxed, but since then it has become an online procedure. The central government is now contemplating restricting mandatory reporting only in severe cases and in people in high-risk categories who test positive. Kishida said that “the priority will be to protect the most vulnerable in society, such as the elderly. “
The government is also considering giving the municipality the option of avoiding reporting all COVID-19 cases. This policy reset will position the country in uncharted waters, as the national infection count will no longer be representative of the number of people who have officially tested positive for COVID-19. The government aims to reposition public belief about the coronavirus and is on track to reduce COVID-19 to a point similar to the seasonal flu.
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After false starts, Japan will fully reopen its borders to tourism next month after more than two years of strict COVID-19 border restrictions. According to local media, the daily access limit for new arrivals, which was above 50,000 earlier this month, will be removed to make way for the pre-pandemic tourist visa waiver system, which was first available in 68 countries.
Under existing COVID-19 border restrictions, foreign hikers will be required to download a short-term visa and set up their flights, itinerary, accommodation, and car rental in advance through an identified company. The Japanese government has waived mandatory pre-flight COVID-19 testing on the condition that visitors are triple-vaccinated. It also removed the requirement for hikers to enter the country through a carefully monitored tour package with a licensed Japanese tour guide.
Although the current scenario is an improvement in terms of allowing independence, continued restrictions on freedom and spontaneity have been criticized by experts as useless in helping the sluggish tourism sector return to pre-pandemic levels. It may also discourage tourists from choosing Japan as a destination. destination, and perhaps heading to Europe, which is currently moving towards tourism.
In recent months, border restrictions have eased at an unprecedented speed. The daily access limit for new arrivals was increased from 5,000 to 20,000 in June, and then more than doubled to 50,000 on Sept. 7. Last week, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he planned to align Japan’s COVID-19 restrictions with those of other countries. G-7 countries and continuously ease restrictions while tracking COVID-19 infections. At a press conference, Kishida said: “Our fight against the virus is not easy, but we are not afraid to take into account the Omicron variant. He also explained that he was looking for tourists to “take advantage of the weak Japanese yen. “
The Japanese government has been under immense pressure from the foreign network to remove barriers to Array. It is the only G7 country that still imposes restrictions on arrivals. However, the government has been reluctant to fully disclose its goal of opening the border to foreign tourists. Although the government has shown its goal of resuming the pre-pandemic situation this year, it has been reluctant to give a timetable. Kishida said border restrictions will continue to be eased “as soon as possible,” leaving local businesses in tourist hotspots on tenterhooks and uncertain whether to prepare for a surge of consumers this fall. The lack of details also makes it difficult for tourists to determine whether they deserve to do so now or come later, when restrictions are fully lifted.
Despite the slow easing of border restrictions, there has been no uptick in the number of tourists arriving in Japan. In June, fewer than 300 foreign tourists entered Japan under the questionable package requirement. The following month, fewer than 8,000 tourists entered Japan.
A local company that rents kimonos to tourists in the bustling tourist domain of Asakusa said its sales had partially fallen compared to 2019. Although it welcomed foreign visitors two months after the borders opened to tourists, no reservations were made for the rest. of the year. Experts warn that there will be no recovery in tourism without a full reopening of tourism.
Despite a record seventh wave of COVID-19 infections this summer, Japan has turned its attention to economic recovery and “living with COVID-19. “The central government is focusing on preventing coronavirus-related deaths rather than spreading infections. As a component of this change, they are contemplating removing mandatory reporting of any and all COVID-19 infections in hospitals to ease the administrative burden on frontline physicians and allow them to spend more time with patients.
Currently, doctors are legally required to report all positive COVID-19 checks to public gyms. Until last year, it was a handwritten procedure that had to be faxed, but since then it has become an online procedure. The central government is now contemplating restricting mandatory reporting only in severe cases and in people in high-risk categories who test positive. Kishida said that “the priority will be to protect the most vulnerable in society, such as the elderly. “
The government is also considering giving the municipality the option to avoid reporting all COVID-19 cases. This replacement policy will put the country in uncharted waters, as the national infection count will no longer be representative of the number of other people who have officially tested positive. for COVID-19. The government aims to replace the public’s belief in the coronavirus and is on track to bring COVID-19 back to a point similar to that of the seasonal flu.
After false starts, Japan will fully reopen its borders to tourism next month after more than two years of strict COVID-19 border restrictions. According to local media, the daily access limit for new arrivals, which was over 50,000 earlier this month. , will be scrapped to make way for the pre-pandemic tourist visa waiver system, which would first be available in 68 countries.
Under existing COVID-19 border restrictions, foreign hikers will be required to download a short-term visa and prepare their flights, itinerary, accommodation, and car rental in advance through an identified agency. The Japanese government has gotten rid of the mandatory prior visa. COVID-19 flight proof on the condition that visitors are triple-vaccinated. It also removed the requirement for hikers to enter the country through a carefully monitored tour package with a licensed Japanese tour guide.
Thisanka Siripala is an Australian-Sri Lankan multi-platform journalist based in Tokyo.