Japan Has Announced Plans To Help Pay For Your Next Vacay, So Sign Us Up
We do not know when we’ll be able to travel internationally again (although domestic travel, at least within your state, is coming hard and fast). Now that’s out of the way, let’s get back to planning the perfect post-COVID vacay because it’s the only thing I can think about.
The plan got a little easier now that Japan is looking like it’ll jump on the Sicily bandwagon and also offer future travellers a significant discount on their next visit.
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According to The Japan Times, Hiroshi Tabata — a spokesperson for the Japan Tourism Agency — stated in a conference that the Japanese government is planning to put just over AUD$19 billion towards a new tourism reimbursement program.
The program (which may come into effect as early as July if Japan’s infection rates continue to decline) would subsidise part of the travel expenses for visitors coming to the country. They haven’t yet announced what this portion would be, but something is better than nothing, right?
Japan does currently have a travel ban in place, so this timing is obviously contingent on how the coronavirus recovery goes.
The announcement comes after some record drops in tourism for the country, thanks in part to coronavirus and relevant travel bans, but also a typhoon earlier in the year. Not to mention the cancellation of the 2020 Olympics that were set to take place in Tokyo. So basically, just a run of really bad luck.
This program is potentially really good news for me, personally, as I was planning a trip to Japan at the end of the year before *all this* started. I mean, Studio Ghibli, Harajuku Girls and cherry blossoms — need I say more?
(Lead Image: Pexels / DSD)
