Japan is easing its two-year ban on foreign tourists thus seeking balance on the economic importance of the tourism industry and also with concerns that the influx of tourists would trigger a covid outbreak.
Under this decision, Japan will allow a limited number of tourists where it will allow packaged tourism starting June 10 and last week few test tours with tourism operators have started.
Relaxing the covid19 restrictions of one of the world’s strictest pandemic border measures required months and months of pressure from travel and tourism executives.
This was done amid the government’s fears of public backlash if infections spiked and the industry’s concerns of an economic wipeout.
“There were worries that foreign tourists would include a lot of people with bad manners – people who don’t wear masks or don’t use hand sanitiser and that infections could spread again,” said one of the executives from a tourism company.
The resistance from the government softened after Japan’s ‘Golden Week’ in May when many people travelled domestically and there was no rise in covid19 infections.
The closed border policy was overwhelmed early on during the pandemic, however, the public has warmed up to reopening as the pandemic has eased and the cost of closure became more apparent.
A recent poll conducted on the subject showed that 67% of respondents felt it was “reasonable” to allow in foreign tourists.
The local government, however, are worried about bringing tourists as they might bring coronavirus infections once again making it difficult to open the country fully.
Japan, where guidelines such as mask-wearing and hand sanitizing are scrupulously followed, has avoided the kind of massive infections that have swept through other countries.
