Japan relaxes foreign tourism. Japan smoothened its borders for foreign tourists and also started to permit guided package tours for those who are willing to follow Coronavirus measures like wearing masks and others from Friday. Japan carefully tries to balance its tourism business keeping in mind the infection anxiety.
It is the first day to start the process needed for the arrivals which are not anticipated until June end. Though the airport departure and the quarantine offices abided for any possible arrival.
As stated by The Japan Tourism Agency tours are being welcomed from 98 countries and regions like the United States, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, and China where the current infection risk is low.
Japan already experimented with the partial reopening of international tourism following the guidelines at the end of May which included 50 participants of tour agency employees from countries like Australia, Singapore, Thailand, US. Japan relaxes foreign tourism
After facing criticism that its strict border controls were xenophobic, Japan began easing restrictions earlier this year. On June 1, it doubled its cap on daily entries to 20,000 people a day, including Japanese citizens, foreign students, and some business travelers.
The daily limit will include the package tour participants for the time being, and officials say it will take some time before foreign visitors can come to Japan for free, individual tourism.
Japan’s inbound tourism business has laid dormant during the pandemic and even though the country welcomes tourists and their spending, infection concerns persist among the Japanese, especially in popular tourist destinations.
Unlike most Western countries where mask-wearing has largely been abandoned, most people continue to wear them even in situations, such as outdoors in uncrowded settings, where they are no longer requested.
The latest mask-wearing rules call for people to wear them on public transport systems, in hospitals, and in other public facilities. People can doff their masks outdoors when others are not around or talking loudly.
It’s unclear how popular the package tour options will be with foreign tourists, most of whom have to apply for tourist visas that can take weeks to obtain. But the yen is trading at 20-year lows against the US dollar and weak against other major currencies, which would make traveling in the high-cost country something of a bargain.
