Why Japan’s most recent travel update is a cause for optimism

In May this year, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida let the world know that the country was about to open to tourists – that border restrictions would be relaxed in stages to bring Japan in line with other G7 nations.

On June 10, following a short trial, Japan opened to its first tourists in two years with the requirement that they came with an authorized tour group.

At the time, the developments were a cause for optimism, and many of us reasoned that it would only be a matter of time before Japan had relaxed restrictions to a level that resembled pre-Covid travel. We gave the ski season the proverbial green light.

Now months later, the group travel requirement remains and the number of foreigners entering Japan for tourism purposes remains pitifully low. By the end of July, just over 8,000 visitors had entered Japan for tourism purposes, far shy of the millions visiting pre-pandemic.

It’s left ski operators contemplating a third winter with no foreign tourists.

“Feeling nervous at present”, said Colin Hackworth, president of Nihon Harmony Resorts KK (owners of Hanazono Niseko), in a recent article with the Financial Review.

“There is no good reason why the border needs to remain closed to foreigners only. Japanese residents and citizens can come and go as they please. Japan needs to become part of the free and open world again – and soon.”

Published on Bloomberg.com

Through most of this period, as Covid-19 cases hit unprecedented heights in Japan, the government has been quiet.

Finally, cause for optimism

However a press conference on Wednesday 24 August, along with several other recent developments, has given skiers and tourism operators a renewed sense of optimism.

Kishida announced this week that from September 7, travellers will no longer require a pre-travel (negative) PCR test, provided they’ve had a Covid booster shot. Perhaps more importantly, he re-committed to moving Japan’s travel restrictions in line with other G7 nations.

This is consistent with Japan’s response to the recent rise in Covid-19 cases, where the government has resisted declaring a state of emergency or increasing restrictions, as it did in previous waves.

There’s also been speculation in the media that Japan will increase its cap of foreign arrivals from 20,000 to 50,000 per day, and that the group travel requirement will be dropped as early as September, with a new stipulation that holidays must be booked through a travel agent.

Of course, noise in the media doesn’t always translate into meaningful change, and the difficult reality is that with current restrictions on independent travel in place – notwithstanding the impending changes to testing – tourists will continue to shun Japan as a tourism destination. However, when that change does come, it will be a very different story.