Japan calls on people to travel to Vietnam and 23 other destinations

While the number of tourists visiting Japan has steadily increased since border restrictions were eased last year, concerns about the pandemic and the weak yen are believed to be reasons why Japanese citizens are reluctant to travel abroad, according to Kyodo News .

Japanese tourists wear Vietnamese ao dai while exploring Ben Thanh Market.

According to government data, the number of Japanese people who left the country for travel in March was 694,300, only 36.0% of the figure for the same period in 2019 – before the pandemic. Conversely, the number of foreign visitors to Japan recovered to 65.8% of the level seen in March 2019.

Therefore, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) and the Japan Travel Association (JATA) will focus on promoting tourism to 24 countries and territories on the priority destination list, including providing half-price passport support for tourists, offering travel products, and giving away free air tickets... in a program called "Now, Travel Abroad!".

According to Japanese media, this is a good time for JTA to encourage Japanese people to travel abroad, as all border control restrictions were lifted on May 8th, when Covid-19 was downgraded to level 5 under Japan's Infectious Disease Control Law, the same level as seasonal flu.

Mr. Hiroyuki Takahashi, President of JATA, stated: "The current imbalance in two-way tourism needs to be addressed. Tourism recovery in markets such as Taiwan or South Korea is much faster than in Japan, even though these destinations opened their borders at the same time as Japan. Through our efforts, we are trying to boost demand for overseas travel this summer, with the expectation that the number of Japanese tourists traveling abroad will reach nearly 20 million, compared to pre-pandemic levels, by 2024."

The 24 key destinations identified by Japan as priority source markets for its tourism industry are part of a program to promote Japanese tourists traveling abroad. Specifically, the 24 selected destinations include Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, India, Canada, the United States, Hawaii, Guam, Mexico, Spain, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Australia.

In the first five months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed 204,000 Japanese tourists, ranking behind South Korea, China, Thailand, the United States, and Taiwan. Prior to the pandemic, in 2019, Japanese tourists ranked third in terms of international visitor numbers to Vietnam with over 900,000 arrivals, after China and South Korea.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhat-keu-goi-nguoi-dan-di-du-lich-viet-nam-va-23-diem-den-khac-185230628081415421.htm