Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:
観光客受け入れ再開の日本、外国人が戻らない理由は？
2022.08.01 Mon posted at 14:19 JST
（ＣＮＮ） アジア諸国が段階的に外国からの旅行者受け入れを再開している。だが観光客はなかなか戻らず、特に日本はその状況が際立っている。
日本は今年６月、夏の観光シーズンを前に受け入れ再開を大々的に発表した。入国管理局の統計によると、６月１０日～７月１０日の間に入国した観光客は約１５００人。コロナ禍の前の２０１９年に比べて９５％減った。
かつて観光地としてあれほど人気があった国に、なぜ観光客がなかなか戻らないのか。
日本が現時点で受け入れているのは個人ではなく団体の観光客のみ。欧米人は自由を好み、決まった日程に従って行動したがらない人が多いため、これは大きな問題だった。
「私たちにベビーシッターはいらない」。かつて日本を頻繁に訪れていた米ニューヨークのメリッサ・ミュジカーさんはそう言い切った。
夫とともに６回ほど東京を訪れたことがあるというミュジカーさん。２２年に受け入れが再開されたと聞いて早速再訪を計画したが、制限を理由に断念した。代わりに次の休暇は韓国で過ごすことにしたという。
訪日客向けの会員制サービス「Ａｒｒｙ」創業者のケイティー・タム氏によると、コロナ禍の前までＡｒｒｙの会員は香港や台湾、韓国、シンガポールなどアジアからの旅行者が多数を占め、日本を年に何度も訪れたり、連休を利用して気軽に旅行したりしていたが、２０年から同サービスは休止状態を余儀なくされている。
Ａｒｒｙは米国のオバマ元大統領が訪れたすきやばし次郎や、最新のレストランランキングでアジア部門のトップになった傳（でん）など東京の人気レストランの予約も代行している。
現時点で予約の問い合わせがあるのは、商用目的のビザを取得できた少数の会員に限られている。非居住者が個人で日本に入国できる手段は現時点でそれしかない。ただ、混雑が少なくなったおかげで以前は予約が取れなかったレストランを予約できることもある。
それでも飲食店の多くは地元客でにぎわっているとタム氏は話す。つまり、外国人観光客が戻って来られるようになった時にも、そうした人気店は営業を続けているはずだ。
出入国在留管理庁によると、現時点で最も多いのはタイと韓国からの観光客で、６月以来、それぞれ約４００人が訪れた。米国からの観光客は１５０人にとどまった。
１９年、日本にとって最大の観光市場は９２５万人が訪れた中国だった。
しかし中国は今、実質的に世界から切り離された状態にあって、国民にも外国人にも厳格な隔離の手順が定められ、観光は停止状態にある。
その影響は日本だけにとどまらない。中国人観光客に人気があったオーストラリア、タイ、シンガポール、韓国も、多額の観光収入が失われている。
東京スカイツリーの広報によると、初めて外国人のツアー団体が展望デッキに戻って来たのは６月２７日だった。参加者は香港からの観光客だった。香港の住民も帰国の際にホテルでの隔離が義務付けられるが、それでも中国本土よりは海外旅行がしやすい。
いずれ日本が個人旅行客の受け入れを再開すれば、観光客が戻ってくる可能性は大きい。コロナ禍でためたお金を散財する「リベンジ旅行」の目的地として、日本は今も人気が高い。
Translation
(CNN) Asian countries were gradually reopening to foreign tourists. However, tourists were not quite returning, and the situation was particularly obvious in Japan.
In June this year, Japan made a big announcement about its reopening ahead of the summer tourist season. According to Immigration Bureau statistics, about 1,500 tourists entered Japan between June 10 and July 10. It had decreased by 95% compared to 2019 before the corona pandemic.
Why was it so difficult for tourists to return to a country that was once so popular to the extent of becoming a tourist destination?
Japan currently only accepted groups of tourists, not individuals. This was a big problem because many Westerners preferred freedom and didn't want to follow a set schedule.
"We don't need a babysitter." Melissa Musicer from New York, who used to visit Japan frequently, said so.
Musicer had visited Tokyo six times with her husband. In 2022 she heard that it had been re-opened and she immediately planned a return visit, but she gave up because of restrictions. She said she decided to spend her next vacation in South Korea instead.
Musicer said “I don’t want quarantine. That is a big factor. I just want to go, hang out, shop, and eat expensive sushi". She liked the city more than the beach, and she was addicted to Korean dramas during the pandemic, which was another reason she decided to travel to Seoul.
Visas were not the only target of Japan's policy that would otherwise make restriction free totally. It was a hard sell because many places still required masks, expensive group tours and mandated quarantines when entering the country.
According to Katie Tam, the founder of ARRY, a membership service for visitors to Japan, the majority of ARRY members were travelers from Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, before the pandemic. Members used to visit Japan many times in a year and would readily travel during consecutive holidays, but since 2020 the service was forced to suspend inevitably.
Arry also made reservations for popular restaurants in
Tokyo, such as Sukiyabashi Jiro which was visited by former US President Barack
Obama, and Den which topped the Asian category in the latest restaurant rankings.
At the moment, booking inquiries were limited to a small
number of members who had obtained business visas. At present, for
non-residents this was the only way to enter the Japan individually. You might
be able to make reservations at restaurants that were previously unavailable,
due to less crowded environment now.
Still, many of the restaurants were still busy with locals, Tam said. In other words, at the time when foreign tourists were able to come back, those popular shops should still be open.
According to the Immigration Services Agency, the largest number of tourists at the moment were from Thailand and South Korea, with about 400 visitors from each country since June. There were only 150 tourists from the United States.
In 2019, China was Japan's largest tourist market, with 9.25 million visitors.
But China was now effectively cut off from the rest of the world, with strict quarantine protocols in place for both citizens and foreigners, and tourism was put on hold.
Such impact was not limited to Japan. Australia, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea, which were popular with Chinese tourists, were also losing large amounts of tourism revenue.
According to the publicity of Tokyo Skytree, the first foreign tour group returned to its observation deck on June 27, participants were tourists from Hong Kong. Hong Kong residents were also required to have quarantine in hotels when returning to their home country, but it was still easier to travel abroad than those in mainland China.
By the time Japan eventually resumed accepting individual tourists, it was highly likely that tourists could return. Japan was still popular as a destination for “revenge trips” to spend the money saved during the coronavirus pandemic.
So, Asian
countries are gradually reopening to foreign tourists. However, in Japan tourists
are not quite returning. At present mostly only group tours are permitted. It
seems that Japan has to relax further its restrictions in order to attract more
overseas tourists.
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