Japan Bound

According to JTB Tourism Research & Consulting survey, the ratios of people who have been motivated to visit Japan by Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were 6% in China, 30.2% in U.K. and 26.7% in Australia.

JR EAST launched ‘JR TIMES,’ an travel information site exclusively for Taiwanese travelers for the future, offering a cross-border EC function to sell limited local products in Japan.

The number of international arrivals in Japan in November 2021 was 20,700 only, 63.5% fewer than a year ago. Omicron variant has forced the Japanese government to suspend the deregulations for a month at least.

The number of international visitors to Japan in October 2021 was 22,100 only even though the Japanese government has eased entry restrictions for vaccinated international visitors since October.

The Japanese government has shortened the quarantine days for vaccinated business persons to three days and restarted accepting new international students and technical trainees since November 8 2021.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) is addressing sustainable tourism in Japan more seriously from standpoints of protecting and cultivating ‘environment,’ ‘culture’ and ‘economy’ in local communities, particularly focusing on the European market.

The number of international visitors to Japan in September 2021 reduced again to 17,700 from 51,000 in July and 26,000 in August because Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics ended.

Yoshiharu Hoshino, Hoshino Resorts CEO, talked about the current business condition and the future business at ‘Hoshino Resorts LIVE 2021 Autumn.' He said international travelers to Japan would not come back easily .

Shizuoka Prefecture will organize a virtual event ‘Mt. Fuji Drone Challenge in Asagiri’ for Singaporean to control a drone remotely to experience tourism attractions virtually.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) will organize ‘VISIT JAPAN Travel Mart 2021’ for the inbound travel market as a full online event from March 1 to 3 2022, joined by 70 overseas buyers and 70 domestic sellers.

The number of international visitors to Japan was 51,100 in July 2021, a Tokyo Olympics month, increasing by five times from 9,300 in June: 6,100 from U.S., 3,900 from China, 3,400 from U.K., 2,500 from France and 2,200 from Germany.

The number of international travelers to Japan was 9,300 in June 2021, plunging below 10,000 for the first time since February 2021, down 99.7% compared to two years ago (2,880,041 visitors).

For locked Olympic and Paralympic athletes, a website operator for inbound travelers serves online tours in cooperation with about 150 interpreter tour guides nationwide.

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) announced ‘Policies for sustainable tourism and contributions to SDGs, focusing on preservation and development of ‘environment,’ ‘culture’ and ‘economy’ in local communities.

More than 90% of Japanese tour operators for international visitors cut jobs, and 40% have cut more than half of jobs in the pandemic, which will possibly be a big hurdle to catch a recovery wave, Japan Inbound Media Consortium (JIMC)'s survey says.

‘The Responsible Traveler,’ a series of manners eduction movies produced by Dentsu Tech for Japan Tourism Agency, featuring humorous performances by five Samurai and Karate Masters, won Intermedia-globe Gold for 2021 World Media Festival.

The first Playbook for stakeholders is unveiled to show principles in order of time, before your travel, entering Japan, at the games and leaving Japan, and also what you have to ensure all the time, including ‘Do not use public transport unless given permission.'

Odawara Tourism Association in Kanagawa Prefecture has started selling online tour ‘Online Ninja Experience (ONE),' expecting that Ninja will be a tourism content to attract international travelers after the pandemic.

The number of international arrivals in Japan was just 4,115,900 in 2020, which was one tenth of the government’s goal of 40 million for 2020. In December 2020 only, international arrivals were down 97.7% year on year to 58,700.

The Japanese government has decided to suspend business and residence tracks between Japan and 11 designated countries and regions until February 7 2021 to prevent a new variant of COVID-19 from flowing into Japan.