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Do you think that once the pandemic ends and travel resumes, there will be strong international demand for tourism to Japan?

40 Comments

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Absolutely. 100%.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

I suppose it will depend on how many years it takes Japan to catch up with vaccination.

Until then, we will continue to be a giant Petri dish which no rational person would dream of visiting.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

doubt it.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Once Visa Waiver is back on, visits will rise rapidly. Currency is going the right way for tourists. Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese can't wait to get back. I know a lot of Europeans who travel here regular and this is the first place they want to get back to.

You see, subject to what we all know here about lack of testing etc - just for example, Sky News were comparing the current situation in the UK to Japan and how well the Japanese are doing...

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

There will be a big travel demand everywhere. Japan's may be comparatively less, due to an image disaster from the Olympics and its lag in getting people vaccinated.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

If someone tests negative for Covid using a reliable test, there is no medical reason why they cannot cross a national or regional border for a holiday today. In such circumstances, they do not have Covid. They are healthy. Your local citizens cannot catch something from them that they do not have. It's a virus not a magical curse. But it isn't happening. Tourism is largely banned.

Politicians can and do ignore logic to roll out their ideology and if they want to keep foreigners out, they now have all the tools at their disposal. The airline industry will only last so long in its present form without mass tourism. Eventually they will return to an earlier system in which only the rich, sports stars and celebrities travelled abroad on a small number of planes, paying huge ticket prices. The rest of us stay at home, imprisoned behind our borders, even if we are vaccinated, perfectly healthy and do not have Covid.

Some countries may open up again, some may not. If folk are allowed to go to Japan in future, they certainly will.

Or perhaps there will always be a reason - medical or political - why we are no longer permitted free movement. I guess we just have to wait and see.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Given the fact that they even barred PRs from coming back, put the Olympics before the health and safety of even its own people, lied through their teeth, deliberately kept (and keep) testing to a minimum, doing sweet FA to get vaccinations started as quick as possible, I can tell you what I think they deserve. And this is on top of the lack of any real anti-racism laws.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It's gonna be a big boom. So much that tour agencies and services will have a lot more than what they could handle.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Yes, travel will resume once travel bans are lifted and visa waivers restored. When and how big a boom depends greatly on how long the travel bans and business lockdowns continue around the world. People aren’t likely to travel in large numbers if their personal wealth has been depleted.

The hospitality industry has been gutted, too. Some small establishments may never reopen, and the larger ones cannot last forever without guests. Reductions in tourists, plus the delay of and ban on foreign visitors for the Olympics, and everything else have hurt businesses badly. The loss of businesses means that not as many visitors could come, even if they wanted to.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Will be a tsunami.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

Not sure. Does news like this help worldwide ‘perceptions’ of Japan? Today Apr 14, 2021 ‘

Japan's neighbors react strongly to Fukushima water release decision” -
2 ( +5 / -3 )

@snowymountainhell - No tourists particularly cared about this from about 18 months post earthquake / original disaster. There will as Kaerimashita has pointed out be a tsunami of tourists last half 2023 for sure.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Maybe, but there'll be a lot less catering to inbound Chinese tourists which isn't all that bad since many of the businesses here were over-reliant on them in the first place. In other words, they put all their eggs into one basket and they paid the price.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@Boku Dayo: Chinese people aren't the Chinese Government. Retailers and the F&B industry will welcome them back with open arms after being starved a proper income for so long. What alternative universe are you living in where Capitalism doesn't exsist?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

boku dayu:

Maybe, but there'll be a lot less catering to inbound Chinese tourists

The problem is not about catering or not catering to inbound Chinese tourists (who are loaded with cash), but, as you yourself say, over-reliance on them. A lack of a plan B. Businesses will take the money if it's given to them. You make it sound (or maybe that's what you want) as if Japan should just say no to Chinese money. But if you were a business, would you really be willing to settle for crumbs only?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The problem is not about catering or not catering to inbound Chinese tourists (who are loaded with cash), but, as you yourself say, over-reliance on them. A lack of a plan B. Businesses will take the money if it's given to them. You make it sound (or maybe that's what you want) as if Japan should just say no to Chinese money. But if you were a business, would you really be willing to settle for crumbs only?

Yes, I am saying that Japan should say "no" to not just Chinese money, but to China as well.

On a larger scale too, look at where our "addiction" to China has taken us. It's time that companies rethink their strategy and pull what they can out of China.

BTW, if I were a business, I wouldn't have to rely on Chinese "wads of cash" and I'd certainly have enough foresight to make sure I wouldn't be holding my hands out for "crumbs".

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@Boku Dayo: Chinese people aren't the Chinese Government. Retailers and the F&B industry will welcome them back with open arms after being starved a proper income for so long. What alternative universe are you living in where Capitalism doesn't exsist?

I'm not denying capitalism. I'm underlying the fact that our unbridled dependence upon China has gone too far. Hence the need to "take our business elsewhere" type of capitalism.

Yeah, I know that the Chinese people (not all of them at least) are the Chinese government, but as long as they allow Xi and the CCP to do as they please, they're complicit in the abuse.

In closing, go shop somewhere else from now on.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I think that tourism will return to Japan, but not in the numbers, or grand enviged scale as before the pandemic.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Maybe this headline doesn’t help international ‘perceptions’ about Japan either:

Fukushima plant water release to prolong seafood safety woes” - National Today Apr 14, ‘21
-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Well the pandemic will end all around the world even in third world countries long before the Japanese will start vaccinating with their own home made brew made for the genetic makeup of the Japanese as we know they are special.

So, NO is my opinion.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

No, China and South Korea will be prime spots for East Asia. All the talk will be how they handled it all well and Japan mishanled everything and released radioactive water into the ocean.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

There are many places in the world where Covid is way worse than Japan , vaccinated tourist will return .

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Unless they fix the radioactive water release in Fukushima, there is not a lot of hope.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Yeah, I know that the Chinese people (not all of them at least) are the Chinese government, but as long as they allow Xi and the CCP to do as they please, they're complicit in the abuse.

You've noticed the responses here to when people rise up against dictatorships, surely?

Look at how Myanmar protesters here in Japan are sneered at.

Hopefully, Japan (as a tourist destination) will be open to all visitors once again, when it is safe to do so.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I travel a lot, and I've been to Japan almost every year since I was in Sendai for the 3/11 tsunami. I've got friends there, and they've got little children I'd love to visit again. But, I'm looking elsewhere for my next destination. The Japanese government's approach to COVID-19 is disappointing, and discourages in-bound tourism. But, that's just my opinion, and I'm glad JT allows us all to express ourselves.

I just booked my vaccination appointment, too. But that won't help in most cases of international travel because people are freaking out about what they call 'vaccination passports', as if such documents are racist, preferential or prejudiced. The whole issue of international tourism is a mess, and it won't be fixed soon.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

China is the backbone of future tourism not only in Japan but worldwide. Of course it will bounce back and then some. But when? Not until 2023 at the earliest, probably later still.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Do you think that once the pandemic ends and travel resumes, there will be strong international demand for tourism to Japan?

Yes. People came to Japan because it appealed and it will again.

The issue though is how you define the "end" of the pandemic. It is likely that tourism will start up to some extent while the pandemic is still ongoing somewhere in the world. Japan is not shaping up to come out of the pandemic as fast as other countries, and therefore demand for tourism to Japan may be very weak to begin with.

Japan is expensive for Asia, but the country has many charms and is largely hassle-free. There is little crime, public transport is excellent, there is low probability of a tummy upset, no need to haggle or tip anyone, and many other things that tourists will know better than a resident like me. If Japan does not step up though, some of these advantages will be outdone by Covid-19 related hassles, like testing, quarantines, or even Japan being on a banned list for the departing country.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

What exactly is it, that made you suggesting that this pandemic ends? Too much after work beer, drugs, hallucinations? Just forget it. The last rudiments of tourism will lead the people there, where are lesser restrictions or infections. That can be anywhere, with then currently low rates at that specific destination, and a month later it is somewhere else.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yes. There is already strong demand to places that are open. It will take a couple years to get back to pre-pandemic levels, though.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The WHO has already reported that the virus will likely be endemic. People need to understand the difference and the media needs to stop using "pandemic" to scare everywhere and get clicks with sensational headlines. Prepare for the strong likelihood of annual infections/season just like flu season.

To the point, I believe tourism will slowly return to it's post highs of 2019. People have remarkable short term/selective memories.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

No, not if those living in Japan haven’t been vaccinated. Japan is likely to be on a red list for travellers from many countries.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

No.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

International travel will depend on how fast Japan catches up internally on the covid pandemic. IF Japan is not up to date travel will be restricted and even afterwards it will take sometime to get all the parties on board to prepare for such a mad rush.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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