Coronavirus: Japan reopens to tours from US, Thailand, Singapore, Australia – travel sector ‘very happy’
- Tourists who have been triple-vaccinated and come from the United States, Australia, Thailand and Singapore will be allowed to take part in specified tours
- Japan closed its borders to foreign tourists during the early stage of the pandemic in 2020, but has been relaxing travel restrictions in phases since March
The government had already announced it would relax some restrictions on arrivals from abroad in June, including reducing quarantine requirements and increasing the ceiling on daily arrivals from the current 10,000 people to 20,000.
Under the new plan for the tourism industry, Japanese travel agencies will be tasked with providing and managing package tours for foreign visitors, adhering to predetermined itineraries and staying in approved hotels. Tourists will not, however, be permitted to use public transport.
“It’s very good news and we are all very happy to hear the government’s decision,” said Naoya Asao, deputy manager of the Odawara Tourism Association’s destination promotion division.
“Only a couple of days ago I was really worried about the situation for foreign tourists coming to Japan and I feared that it might [be] another year – or maybe longer – before the borders were reopened,” he told the Post. “That makes this announcement even better as it means we are taking another step toward full reopening and getting back to normal.”
A coastal city about 90km southwest of central Tokyo, Odawara is famous for its castle and the local ninja heritage, but the only foreign visitors for the last two years have been foreign nationals who live in Japan and have been unable to travel overseas, he said.