Estimates released by the Japan National Tourism Administration on the 215th show that the number of foreign visitors to Japan in May was 14.6 times that of the same period last year, reaching 147,000. It has exceeded 100,000 people for two consecutive months. Japan has expanded the upper limit on the number of people entering the country since April, with more business people and technical interns entering the country.
The number of tourists visiting Japan in May dropped by 94.7% compared with May 2019 before the COVID-19 epidemic. Looking at major countries and regions, Vietnam has the largest number of arrivals, with 39,000 people. Followed by China with 17,600 people and South Korea with 8,800 people. The number of people from Vietnam surpassed China and ranked first, which may be related to the increase in the entry of technical intern trainees.
The Japanese government began to relax border control measures in April, expanding the upper limit of entry numbers to 10,000 people in a single day, and to 20,000 people from June 1. The government has resumed the process of accepting tourists to Japan from the 10th of this month, and the official launch of entry is expected to be after late June.
The official entry is expected to be after late June, which is a long-awaited development for the tourism industry that hopes to welcome tourists to Japan again. However, the guidelines issued by the Japanese government include very strict conditions such as epidemic prevention measures, and are limited to tour groups with guided tours. Therefore, some people lamented that "expectations were dashed."
As Japan opens entry to foreign tourists from June 10, the number of daily passengers at major airports in Japan is also increasing. The Animal and Plant Quarantine Service of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan specifically reminds everyone that it is prohibited to bring ham and other meat products into the country.
Although in terms of entry quarantine, Japan does not require entry nucleic acid testing and home quarantine for people entering from 98 countries or regions with low infection risk (including China), but on the other hand, it has also strengthened the quarantine for people entering the country. Baggage inspection.
The current epidemic prevention measures hinder travel to Japan
0, Japan officially resumed foreign group tours by exempting entry testing and quarantine. The Japanese government's guidelines for accepting tourists released on the 7th show that travel agencies need to require tourists to wear masks and disinfect them thoroughly. In addition, tour guides need to record tourists' movements.
"I thought tourists to Japan were finally coming," said Tsurugi (85 years old), who runs the "Sawanoya Hotel" in Taito Ward, Tokyo, with disappointment. The Zegong family has been running the hotel for more than 70 years and has received about 200,000 foreigners from 92 countries, but most of them are independent tourists. Since the measure excludes independent travelers, it is expected to be difficult to revive performance by attracting foreign tourists.
According to the Japan Tourism Agency, about 80% of foreign tourists visiting Japan in 2019 before the COVID-19 epidemic were independent travelers. Zegong said that he "will work hard to persevere until we can welcome old customers from all over the world again" and looks forward to the restrictions being lifted as soon as possible.
Kyodo News Agency reported that the person in charge of Hong Kong travel agency giant "Toyo Travel" pointed out that there are many people who want to travel to Japan, but the border port measures between Hong Kong authorities and Japan to prevent the spread of the new crown epidemic have become obstacles, and called for relaxing restrictions. The company's first batch of tour groups to Japan will arrive at Narita Airport on the 22nd. About 10 people are expected to participate, which may become the first group after Japan resumes accepting foreign tourists to Japan.
Currently, the biggest problem is the quarantine after returning to China. After returning to Hong Kong from Japan, you must be quarantined in a hotel or other places for at least 7 days. Without this regulation, there would be many people who want to go to Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented visa-free measures for short-term stayers from Hong Kong before the epidemic, but currently requires a visa as a border measure. It takes about a week to get a visa in Hong Kong, and the procedures are very complicated.
In the Japanese government’s border port countermeasures, China falls into the “blue” category and is exempt from testing and quarantine upon entry.However, travel agencies that mainly target Chinese tourists revealed that strict epidemic prevention measures will be taken when tourists return to China, so the "condition is not very good."
Airports in Japan have strengthened immigration inspections!
On the 13th, Narita Airport’s Terminal 2 (3rd floor) introduced a cocobo robot to strengthen patrols and inspections within the airport. The images captured by the camera on the robot can be analyzed in real time through AI, and it also supports various scenarios such as remote guidance through LED display and voice, as well as abnormal notification alarms.
The difference between this robot and the ones that have been imported before is that it is loaded with the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system. In addition to detecting congestion in queues at the airport, it can also detect abandoned objects and fallen pedestrians on patrol routes. This can be uploaded to the system in the form of a video and staff can be notified by signaling.
This is also the first autonomous walking patrol monitoring robot equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) that can detect congestion and be launched in Japan. According to reports, as foreign tourists gradually resume, airports will also use the power of robots to reduce the patrol burden at large airports and improve and strengthen security.
In addition, Fukuoka Airport has also strengthened airport inspections. In order to prevent overseas infectious diseases from entering Japan, personnel from the quarantine station of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan issued posters to foreigners entering the country, reminding foreigners that they are not allowed to bring contraband into the country.
For example, products such as meat and fruits can cause the invasion of infectious diseases and pests, so Japanese law prohibits the entry of such items. In addition, foreigners who have lived in Japan for a long time are also not allowed to mail related meat and other food from overseas to Japan. In this regard, the staff also carried out relevant publicity activities.
It is reported that the Japanese government is studying to further ease the entry policy. Although foreign tourists are currently allowed to enter, it is only limited to tour groups. In the future, it is likely to completely return to the state before the epidemic.
Can the economy improve by opening up inbound tourism?
Japan’s long-awaited inbound tourism for foreign tourists is finally open.
On the 16th, Japan reported 15,515 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 20 new deaths. As of June 16, Japan had a total of 9,110,228 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and a total of 30,985 deaths. The number of newly confirmed cases in Japan has been declining for three consecutive weeks, and there has been basically no rebound in the number of cases during this period.
As the epidemic continues to improve, Japan has not returned to the state when it tightened its anti-epidemic policies after relaxing its epidemic prevention policies. The continuity of the policies has given the people and businesses great confidence. In addition, after the experiment during the Golden Week in May, the epidemic in Japan did not rebound, which is also an important source of public confidence.
In order to further stimulate consumption, the Japanese government has also formulated corresponding subsidy policies. For example, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has officially suspended the "rebound warning period" from May 22, and has canceled the maximum number of eight people per table dining at the same time for restaurants certified for epidemic prevention. There is a maximum stay limit of 2 hours, and subsidy policies have also been introduced for Tokyo residents such as accommodation and day trips.
Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Tetsuo Saito announced at a press conference on the 217th that a new tourism support project will be launched in the first half of July. The "Prefecture Citizen Discount" for travel discounts in each prefecture will actually be extended nationwide to enrich government support.
From the 10th, the Japanese government officially restarted inbound tourism for foreign tourists that had been suspended due to epidemic prevention. This is the first time in two years that Japan has resumed receiving foreign tourists. In response, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said: “The resumption of visits to Japan by overseas tourists who can enjoy the benefits of the depreciation of the yen is of great significance to the local economy.”
Japan has added 98 countries and regions with low infection risks, including China, to the scope of group inbound travel. Is this because Japan’s economic vitality lies in its openness to the export of tourism services. In the context of the sharp depreciation of the yen and low domestic inflation, International tourists will definitely increase, but the impact will be limited. First, the number of arrivals is limited to 20,000 people per day, which means that the number of tourists will be less than a quarter of what it was before the epidemic in 2019; secondly, if there are no epidemic prevention policies in other countries, Cooperation, inbound tourism in Japan will not fully resume.
