It will be two months since the acceptance of foreign tourists resumed on the 10th, but the Immigration Services Agency has found that the number of tourists who entered the country by the end of last month remained at more than 8,000.

Against the backdrop of the depreciation of the yen, there are voices expecting an increase in tourists, and the challenge is how to revitalize the economy while thoroughly implementing infection control measures.

In order to prevent the spread of the new corona infection, the government resumed accepting foreign tourists in June this year, and it will be two months on the 10th.



Acceptance is carried out within the range of the upper limit of 20,000 people entering the country per day, and the target of entry is 102 countries and regions such as the United States, South Korea, and China.

In order to prevent the spread of infection, it is limited to tour passengers with a tour conductor.



According to the Immigration Services Agency, the number of foreign tourists who entered the country by the end of last month was just over 8,000.

There were 252 in June and about 7,900 in July.



According to the Japan Tourism Agency, more than 8,500 foreign tourists applied to enter Japan from the 5th to the 31st of this month, averaging about 310 per day.



This is due to the fact that overseas travel is strictly restricted in China, which has had many visitors to Japan, and that it is now necessary to obtain a visa and submit a negative certificate for the new coronavirus in all countries and regions, which makes the procedure time-consuming. In addition, since it is limited to tourists, it is possible that the number of tourists from Europe and the United States who prefer to travel alone will be sluggish.



While the seventh wave of infections continues to spread, there are voices expecting economic effects from an increase in foreign tourists against the backdrop of a weaker yen.



With the number of foreign visitors to Japan falling far below the level before the spread of infection, which exceeded 30 million annually, the issue is how to revitalize the economy while thoroughly implementing infection control measures.

Thorough infection control measures for foreign tours

When accepting foreign tourists, thorough infection control measures are required.



For this reason, the major travel agency "Nippon Travel Agency" has created its own manual that explains in detail the contents of the guidelines set by the government, and disseminates it to overseas agency staff.



For example, the scope of free movement of tourists is limited to the places designated by the tour conductor, and after returning to the hotel after a day's tour, they are not allowed to freely go sightseeing except for meals at nearby facilities. I am giving



In addition, it is introduced that private medical insurance is required in case of infection.

Ayaka Hirano of Japan Travel's inbound travel sales department said, "Even if an infected person appears, we have decided in advance what to do with the hospital. We are preparing carefully so that we can welcome you." I'm here.



On the tour arranged by this company, 21 Italian group guests are visiting Japan from the 3rd of this month, and are planning to visit Tokyo and Kyoto for 12 days according to the procedure made by the company.



In Italy, recently, many people take off their masks even in the city, but during the tour, everyone wears a mask and goes sightseeing according to the instructions of the tour conductor.



In addition, when sightseeing the Takeshita Street in Harajuku, Tokyo, where many people come and go, the group moves according to a fixed schedule, so the time for the tour guide to stroll freely is limited to about 1 hour and 30 minutes. The participants were able to enjoy sightseeing in Tokyo at the designated time.



One of the participants said, "It's been a long time since I've worn a mask in Italy, except when I'm on public transport, so I'm happy to wear it when I visit other countries." .



Another participant said, "We are foreigners visiting Japan, and we want everyone around us to be safe, so we are paying as much attention as possible."



On the other hand, in the resumption of acceptance this time, we are asking tourists from countries such as Italy, which did not require tourist visas before Corona, to obtain visas.



One participant commented, "If you don't need to obtain a visa, you can come to Japan more easily, and I think the number of tourists will increase."

Some people give up on traveling to Japan

Since Japan resumed accepting foreign tourists, companies that arrange travel to Japan overseas have received more inquiries, but in most cases they have canceled their trips knowing that there are many restrictions and procedures. That is.



A subsidiary of a major Japanese travel agency in San Francisco, USA, has received dozens of inquiries about traveling to Japan since Japan resumed accepting foreign tourists on June 10. is.



Many of the inquiries are from repeat customers who have visited Japan many times. To explain that time is limited, most people give up on traveling to Japan and switch destinations to Europe, Central and South America, etc.

Yuko Oku, the manager of the San Francisco Bay Branch of NTA America, said, ``The yen has been depreciating, and there are many people who have been waiting for a chance to go to Japan, but they have decided not to. I think it is important to devise ways such as easing restrictions and simplifying visa acquisition procedures."

Gifu Takayama City has been canceled one after another

In Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture, which is known for its old townscape, tour companies and hotels are receiving cancellations from foreign tourists one after another, and the current situation is that they have not been able to capture inbound demand as expected.



Of these, a tour company in Takayama City, which offers optional tours for foreign tourists, has not seen a single visitor from overseas in the past two months, and from Australia, which had a reservation for next month. A group of about 30 people has also been cancelled.



The company believes that the spread of infection in Japan and the fact that acceptance is limited to tour passengers with tour conductors and that it is difficult to walk freely around the city may have been avoided.



Yoichiro Yamakoshi, president of the tour company Happy Plus, said, "We have received many requests from individual customers living overseas who want to travel freely. Once the infection situation settles down, we will be able to accept them as before as soon as possible. I want you back," he said.



In addition, a hotel in Takayama City, which has 290 guest rooms, was hosting 50,000 foreign tourists a year before the spread of the infection, and had high hopes for the resumption of acceptance, but this month it has already reached 100. It means that the above reservation has been cancelled.



Still, in anticipation of a future recovery in demand, this hotel introduced a king-size bed with a width of 2 meters for the first time in order to meet the demands of guests from Europe and the United States, as well as a room equipped with a dining table and a large refrigerator. was also newly established.



Atsushi Sugimoto, general manager of Hotel Associa Takayama Resort, said, "I want the government to ease the restrictions on acceptance as soon as possible and revitalize the tourism industry in Japan as a whole, including Takayama."

Kanazawa's Gold Leaf Shop Few Foreign Tourists

At the shops in Kanazawa where you can observe and experience gold leaf manufacturing, few foreign tourists continue to visit.



It has been two months since the government resumed accepting foreign tourists on the 10th, but even in Kanazawa's tourist area "Higashi Chaya District", the number of foreign tourists has decreased significantly.



Kanazawa accounts for nearly 100% of the national share of gold leaf production.At the gold leaf maker's shop near Higashi Chayagai, in addition to selling handicrafts and souvenirs, you can also see the craftsmen's manufacturing process up close. You can experience putting gold leaf on.



For this reason, before the spread of the infection, tourists from 130 countries around the world visited, accounting for about 30% of all visitors.



After the resumption of acceptance of foreign tourists, reservations for experience corners were made through overseas travel agencies, but cancellations continued, and there were almost no foreign tourists visiting the store for the past two months.



Kazunori Sakuta, president of Gold and Silver Leaf Crafts Sakuda, said, “We have reservations for foreign tourists in September and October, but it is unclear if they will actually come. I am prepared that it will take years, and I want to make it through by focusing on selling to domestic customers and disseminating product information."

Expert ``People's understanding is important''

Akiko Kosaka, a senior researcher at the Japan Research Institute, who is familiar with fields such as tourism, commented on future acceptance, "Inbound is an important activity for the Japanese economy, especially for rural areas, so it is very important to resume smoothly. If it goes too far, there may be places where the reception side, such as employment and infection control measures, are not fully prepared in some rural tourist areas, so there may be conflicts on the contrary." I expressed my opinion that it should.



On top of that, he said, "If restrictions such as the number of people entering Japan per day are removed, the number of tourists will automatically recover." If tourism is not welcoming, it will not last long.The government will be required to create an environment that welcomes foreign tourists as soon as possible." I think it's important to be understood.