travel

Global tourism recovering, but not back to pre-pandemic levels

6 Comments
By Katell PRIGENT

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© 2022 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

6 Comments
Login to comment

People are still nervous that govts may change their entry and exit policies at the drop of a hat or resurgence of Covid in this instance. People want certainty that if they book and pay for fares and hotels they won't be left with a large hole in their bank account if the country they are visiting bars entry at the last minute.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Early days yet. Most people still book holidays some time in advance, so the process of recovery will take up to a year. Chinese tourists may not be returning, so drop them from all the figures when comparing pre- and post-pandemic numbers if you want a clearer picture of how the revival is going. Although some travellers may change their plans due to inflation, a lot will still book an annual family holiday and trim elsewhere as required. For many, especially long haul, it won't be an issue. If you can spend that sort of cash on a holiday, a larger energy bill isn't going to affect your plans.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I work in hospitality and we don't expect things to reach previous tourism levels for 5 years at the bare minimum, and we have plans for longer.

Even if every government drops all travel restrictions tomorrow, it will be much longer before people are willing to travel. Whether that is because they don't have the disposable income right now, or simply that they don't feel safe enough to travel yet. Nevermind how many hotels and businesses reliant on tourism have already had to shutter. Some people probably will never feel as comfortable traveling as they did before.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Addfwyn.

UK airports have long queues as the airlines can't recruit staff fast enough to cope with the demand. Tour companies have responded with customs fast tracking options. Demand is high for holidays.

Japan is suppressing its own tourist industry for political reasons. People who would have gone there will now be looking for other destinations, so any Asian nations that drop quarantining requirements and open up will be able to grab a chunk of Japan's multi-billion dollar market. That is a huge sack of cash, ripe for the picking. After enjoying a holiday, folk often return, so once diverted, that revenue stream may become annual.

The hotels that have shuttered are inflating the occupancy of those that survived. The elderly may be more nervous about travelling, so the industry may change shape a little.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Getting on a plane is a crapshoot that most people just cannot afford to take.

Coming back to Japan in 2021 and again in 2022 found the rules and quarantine regulations quite different.

Its always a pain going through immigration and being fingerprinted and then customs where ‘everyone’ is questioned to some degree.

However, the lack of quarantining that I experienced abroad in several different countries was not what Japan was/is doing.

Two weeks in an hotel or 3 days at home or maybe 7 days?

it’s hard to know what the roll of the dice will determine.

I do not mind being at home but the business hotel incarceration is akin to being in a prison.

Who knows when the rules will change again for some arbitrary reason?

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Global tourism recovering

Not including Japan…….

It doesn’t help when airline tickets cost 5-10X more than they were in 2019.

The ¥130 yen to $1 usd rate definitely makes things difficult.

Also the lack of direct flights into Japan outside of Tokyo and Osaka, keeps many from flying out.

Good job, Japan. Keep up the good work.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites