It’s especially remarkable in Japan, which reopens with much fanfare in June 2022, just in time for peak travel season. Between June 10 and July 10, the country welcomed about 1,500 leisure tourists, according to data from the Japan Immigration Service. That’s down 95% from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.
So what causes the disparity? And why are travelers so slow to return to what has historically been a popular destination?
No safety in numbers
Although Japan is once again accessible, the country now only allows leisure travelers to arrive in organized groups rather than as individuals. For many in the West, who like spontaneity and don’t want to follow a strict itinerary, that issue is a dealbreaker.
“We don’t have to babysat,” says Melissa Musiker, a New York-based public relations expert who regularly travels to Japan. Read also : US-China relations at 50: learn lessons and move forward.
The musician and her husband have been to Tokyo “about six times.” The couple had planned to visit again in 2022 when they heard the borders were reopening, but were frustrated by the restrictions and gave up.
Instead, they chose a new destination and went to South Korea for a vacation.
“We don’t want to quarantine. That’s a big factor,” Musiker said. “We just like to go back and bum around and shop and eat expensive sushi.”
The preference for city visits over beach vacations tipped the scales in Seoul’s favor, as did the pandemic-born addiction to K-dramas.
Yasaka Temple in Kyoto, Japan is usually surrounded by tourists and street vendors.
Image by Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg/Getty
Semi-open isn’t open
Japan’s policy of not being fully open does not only apply to visas. Read also : Because the United States and China are not decoupling so fast. The country still has mask rules in many areas, group tours can be expensive, and Japan requires quarantine upon arrival, which makes sales more difficult.
Katie Tam is the founder of Arry, a members-only subscription platform that helps visitors to Japan score reservations at some of Tokyo’s most in-demand restaurants, such as Obama-backed Sukiyabashi Jiro and the latest Asia’s Best Restaurants list, Den.
Before the pandemic, many of Arry’s users were Asian tourists – those living in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea or Singapore – who visited Japan a few times a year or could just hop over for a spontaneous long weekend. Since 2020, though, the company will have to take a hiatus.
“We didn’t know it would be that long,” he said of what was supposed to be a short-term hiatus. “It’s been tough.”
Some of the members who started contacting Arry again about making orders, Tam said, were people who could get business travel visas to Japan. Currently, this is the only way for non-citizens to enter the country as solo visitors, and some take advantage of the lack of crowds to get a seat at a restaurant they cannot book in advance.
There is one bit of good news, though. Despite the challenges, many of Japan’s best eateries have fared well amid the pandemic.
“Many of the restaurants we work with have a strong local language for clients,” says Tam. Instead, it means these popular places will stay in business whenever foreign tourists can come.
According to the Immigration Services Agency, the two biggest markets for Japanese tourism today are Thailand and South Korea. But the “biggest” here is relative – about 400 people from each country have visited Japan since June. Only 150 came from the United States.
Before the pandemic, Kyoto’s narrow streets were full of visitors.
Image by Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg/Getty
The China effect
In 2019, Japan’s largest single tourism market was neighboring China, with 9. To see also : Analysis: Pacific bloc, united, requires climate action like China, US woo.25 million Chinese visitors.
Now, though, China remains essentially sealed off from the rest of the world. It still has strict quarantine protocols for residents and foreigners alike, causing tourism to grind to a halt.
Japan is not the only country to be significantly affected by the lack of Chinese tourists. Popular destinations for Chinese tourists, such as Australia, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea, have all lost revenue as the billion-plus tourists stay home.
Tokyo Skytree is the tallest structure in Japan.
Rodrigo Reyes Marin/AFLO/Reuters
Hiroyuki Ami, head of public relations at Tokyo Skytree, said it took until June 27 for the first international tour group to reach the observation deck. The group in question was made up of guests from Hong Kong.
The financial hub city has strict restrictions including mandatory hotel quarantine for returning residents, but it is still easier for tourists to travel from there than from mainland China.
“Before Covid, Ami said, “the largest number (of foreign visitors) was from China, but I haven’t seen them recently.” He confirmed that most of the Skytree visitors in the past six weeks were local Japanese during the summer vacation. .
“Just because receiving tourists has continued does not mean that we are receiving more customers from abroad,” he added.
Waiting in the wings
Odds are good that when and if Japan decides to reopen to individual leisure travelers, they will come. The phrase “revenge travel” was coined to describe people who saved money during Covid and now want to blow it on a huge travel bucket list, and Japan remains a popular bucket list destination.
“There is great interest in returning to Japan,” said Tam, Arry’s founder. “I think it will pick up.”
CNN’s Kathleen Benoza in Tokyo contributed reporting.
