The Japanese government is planning on rolling out a 1.35 trillion yen plan to subsidize domestic tourist trips after seeing a crash of 99% in the tourism sector. Tanzia Haq reports.
Japan will be providing subsidies to travelers within the coming months in order to revive its heavily pandemic affected tourist sector. Named The Go-To Travel initiative, the government will be subsidizing holidays for up to 20 thousand yen a day in the form of discounts at local restaurants and shops.
The plan is set to be rolled out once travel restrictions have eased considerably around the world. The discounts will apply to tourists making reservations through Japanese travel agencies and directly with Japanese hotels and establishments. However, these subsidies do not apply to foreign visitors.
The Japan Travel Agency tweeted on Wednesday that the plan was to: “stimulate domestic travel demand within Japan after the Covid-19 pandemic and only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses.”
Domestic travel was severely affected by the country’s lockdown measures due to the coronavirus. Overseas travel was also badly affected. The 1.35 trillion Yen budget is part of a second emergency budget introduced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help the country through the economic crisis left in the wake of the pandemic.
Japan’s tourism is receiving extra attention as the sector played a key role in Abe’s plans for Japan’s growth before the pandemic. Abe’s government had an ambitious plan to attract 40 million foreign tourists by the end of this year and 60 million by 2030. Income plans from tourist spending were further hampered by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and an entry ban spanning more than 100 countries.
