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Japan wants to subsidise your holiday to persuade you to return

The Japanese government might soon pay for tourists to return - Getty
The Japanese government might soon pay for tourists to return - Getty

As visitor numbers drop to a record low, the Japanese government is considering a novel solution to boost tourism after lockdown

Japan is looking to boost tourism by subsidising a portion of travellers’ expenses, as the country lifts its state of emergency and eases lockdown restrictions.

In a news conference last week, Hiroshi Tabata of the Japan Tourism Agency announced plans to allocate $12.5 billion (£10.2 billion) to a new reimbursement programme for tourism.

It is not clear whether the scheme would target domestic tourists only, or if it could be rolled out to international visitors as well. Some reports suggest Japan could follow the lead of Sicily, which is looking to lure back foreign travellers by paying half their air fares and offering one free night of accommodation for every three nights spent there.

The programme could launch as early as July, if the country’s infection rate continues on its current downward trajectory. Japan has had 16,581 cases of Covid-19 and 830 deaths. On May 25, it reported just 31 new cases.

Experts attribute Japan’s success in controlling the virus to its early lockdown measures, low obesity rates, expertise in treating breathing diseases like pneumonia, and a culture that is already well educated in the importance of good hygiene.

When it comes to lost tourism revenue, Japan will emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the world’s worst-affected due to the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, originally scheduled for July but moved to 2021.

The country saw a 99.9 per cent year-on-year drop in visitors during April, ahead of a summer when it was expecting a significant spike in visits. Only 2,900 foreign visitors went to Japan last month as it expanded its list of banned countries to around 100. This is the first time since 1964 that Japan's monthly arrivals figure has dropped below 10,000.

Japan has seen a 99.9% year-on-year decrease in visitors
Japan has seen a 99.9% year-on-year decrease in visitors

There was another significant drop in visits earlier in the decade. In 2011, following the earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster that struck the country, 7.1 million visitors travelled to Japan – a 2.31 million slump compared to the previous year. However by 2018, just seven years after the disaster, tourist numbers had boomed four-fold to 31 million.

The Japanese government’s proposed bid to attract tourists isn’t the first time the country has taken steps to subsidise holidays. Last December, prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Japan Airlines announced a promotion giving away 100,000 seats on domestic flights in a bid to divert tourists to lesser-known corners of the country beyond Tokyo and Kyoto.

As it stands, British holidaymakers will have to wait a bit longer until they can enjoy what Japan has to offer. The Foreign Office still advises against all but essential trips, which means travelling overseas would invalidate insurance policies, and come with the risk of getting stranded abroad without cover if there were a second spike of Covid-19 cases and air routes closed down again.

Japan has seen a 99.9% year-on-year decrease in visitors - Getty
Japan has seen a 99.9% year-on-year decrease in visitors - Getty

Holidaymakers will also soon have to self-isolate for two weeks on arriving back in the UK. The Government announced that, as of June 8, everyone arriving by air, ferry or train will have to provide an address where they will quarantine for 14 days. Police will be spot-checking the addresses of up to 100 people per day, and anyone caught breaching the rules could be subject to a £1,000 fine.

There is small hope, however, that we may be able to travel overseas this summer through “air bridges”. In a statement last week, Number 10 said: "The Government will continue to look at further options as we move forward and these will include air bridges – agreements between countries who both have low transmission rates to recognise each other’s departure screening measures for passengers and removing the need for quarantine measures for incoming passengers.”

An air bridge will effectively mean a bilateral travel link between the UK and another country, allowing quarantine immunity. The agreement would, we can only assume, by necessity involve a lifting of the FCO travel advisory for that destination. Travel bubbles have already been formed betwen some countries, such as the Baltics.

There has currently been no mention of a country as far afield as Japan forming part of a UK air bridge agreement. Countries closer to home with a long-standing appeal to British holidaymakers, such as Spain, France and Greece, would be prime candidates for the first air bridge.

Speaking to Telegraph Travel, a tourism chief from the Canary Islands said: “I know there has been talk of special agreements between the UK and Ireland and also with France, but I think very soon the UK will have one with Spain, and specifically the Canary Islands, because our [infection] rate is the lowest in Spain, and maybe the lowest in Europe.”

Wondering when you will be going on holiday again? Our consumer expert Nick Trend gives his thoughts on the matter. Read the article here.