'Self-restraint' blamed for plummeting tourism across Japan

[bill937ca]

'Self-restraint' blamed for plummeting tourism across Japan

 

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104140133.html

 

Hotels and inns across Japan lost an estimated 560,000 guests to cancellations following the Great East Japan Earthquake last month, according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

 

Hiroshi Mizohata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, told an Upper House land and transport committee Tuesday that the public's sense of self-restraint had hurt tourism, causing the number of tourists not only in the disaster-hit areas, but also across the nation, to tumble.

 

Mizohata's remark came in response to a question by New Komeito lawmaker Hiroaki Nagasawa. About 390,000 of the cancellations were in the Tohoku and Kanto districts, the most heavily hit, whereas the rest of Japan also suffered about 170,000 cancellations.

 

"The consequences are extremely serious," Mizohata said. Concerns over the dispersion of radioactive materials due to the nuclear plant accidents are spreading among tourists, whereas a variety of events have been suspended all over Japan, leading to a sharp drop in tourism demand. There are also repercussions from numerous countries discouraging their citizens from traveling to Japan.

 

The number of cancellations was calculated on the basis of an industry survey.

 

The survey targeted the period from March 12, the day following the great earthquake, to April 8, and five and six prefectures in the Tohoku and Kanto districts, respectively, which do not include Iwate and Chiba prefectures where data could not be collected. Cancellations amounted to 30-40 percent of all reservations in more than one region, according to the survey.

 

A travel agencies association found, through a questionnaire of its member companies, that the number of domestic travel contracts had dropped 20-40 percent between a week before the disaster and late March. It projects that the number of contracts in April and May will also be down 20-45 percent from the corresponding months last year.

 

If the situation does not improve, this may push hotels and inns into financial difficulties. The Japan Tourism Agency and the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency are considering measures to assist business owners with their operation funds and capital investment. Furthermore, the Japan Tourism Agency issued an extraordinary notification Tuesday, reminding local governments and the tourism industry that "aggressive promotion of tourism in regions not affected by the disaster ends up helping to assist the disaster-hit areas," urging them to engage in tourism promotion more aggressively.

 

The disappearance of foreign tourists is pronounced in many tourist destinations.

 

Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, touted as one of the three most scenic places in Japan, is one of the largest tourist destinations in the country, visited by about 3.6 million people annually. The Zuiganji temple, designated as a national treasure, was reopened to visitors Sunday, whereas bay excursion boats also plan to resume operations on April 29. Damage in the surrounding areas was relatively mild, and efforts for the restoration of tourism is well under way.

 

Still, cracks in walls and other circumstances are still preventing half of all hotels and inns there from resuming business. A local tourism association official says, "There will still be some time before the customers are back, because aftershocks haven't ceased."

 

Tourists were a rare sight in Tokyo's Asakusa district Tuesday afternoon despite the warm sunshine. A 59-year-old employee of a tourist information office said, "I have worked here for more than 20 years, but never before did we have so few visitors." Her office normally serves about 3,000 visitors per day even on weekdays, but the numbers have plunged to 500-600 following the earthquake.

 

The decrease was especially steep for foreign tourists. "Foreigners disappeared totally after the nuclear accidents," says a 70-year-old hotel employee. Some Chinese hotel employees have abandoned their jobs to return to their home country. The number of guests staying total only 30 percent of the pre-quake figure. This is dealing a heavy blow to businesses, because foreign guests tend to buy larger amounts of souvenirs and to stay longer. Repercussions are also being felt at tourist spots in western Japan. In Kyoto Prefecture, cherry blossom viewing events, scheduled in Uji, Fukuchiyama and elsewhere for late March and early April, were canceled one after another.

 

The reason cited is "self-restraint." The Kyoto Tourism Federation says the number of tourists in Uji city, in the south of the prefecture, is down 30-40 percent from the corresponding period last year. In late March, the federation signed a joint declaration with Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto city and other parties saying that they would refrain from unnecessary self-restraint, but a federation official laments, "Poeple's restraint from tourism is dealing a hard blow. We never know how long the self-restraining sentiment will last."

 

At Oita Prefecture's Beppu hot springs, 33,000 reservations were canceled between the March 11 quake and the end of March. Foreigners accounted for 10,000 of the cancellations, with domestic tours and individuals accounting for the remaining 23,000. Many of the cancellations were by tourists from the Tokyo and Nagoya regions. Thousands of cancellations were reported at other hot spring sites as well.

 

According to JTB Corp., a major tourist agency, the number of domestic travel contracts for late March was down 30 percent from the corresponding period last year. The decrease was as high as 60 percent for the Kanto district. There are signs of recovery in April, but JTB considers it difficult to recover last year's levels for the Golden Week holiday season that runs from late April through early May.

 

Meanwhile, in a related development, Tokyo Disneyland in Uyarasu, Chiba Prefecture, currently suspending operations in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, will reopen Friday, theme park operator, Oriental Land Co., announced Tuesday.

 

Officials said that while rolling blackouts had ended, enabling the reopening, the park will still refrain from operating at night to save on power.

 

For the time being, Tokyo Disneyland will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

The Disney Ambassador Hotel and the Tokyo Disneyland Hotel, directly affiliated with the resort, will also resume operations April 15. The Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo "ZED" will reopen April 23.

 

Tokyo DisneySea and its Hotel MiraCosta, currently closed, plan to resume operations before the Golden Week holiday season at the earliest.

 

The resort will commit to saving power by suppressing the use of illuminations, fountains and air conditioning. It will consider resuming nighttime operations on the condition that a stable supply of power is restored. The resort is considering installing large gas-powered private electric generators on the site, which, on completion, will provide about 70 percent of all power consumed.

[bill937ca]

Another news story.

 

Nuclear disaster levels tourist industry

 

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104150147.html

 

The Japanese tourist industry has taken a huge hit from March 11's Great East Japan Earthquake. Continuing aftershocks and the nuclear power plant crisis in Fukushima Prefecture have scared away many foreigners, delivering a blow to the government's drive to make Japan a major international tourist destination.

 

The number of foreigners who visited Japan in March plunged by 50.3 percent from a year earlier to an estimated 352,800, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO).

 

It was the biggest drop in history of the number of foreign visitors, surpassing the 41.8-percent drop recorded in August 1971, which was largely the result of a surge the previous year due to the Japan World Exposition held in Osaka Prefecture.

 

The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis have created the impression that it is risky to be in Japan right now, driving away foreign tourists and causing many international conferences to be canceled.

 

Many popular tourist destinations are plagued with empty parking lots and few visitors. Among them is Owakudani, a volcanic valley in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, shrouded in white steam billowing from active sulfur vents scattered among lava formations and bubbling hot springs. The area is known for its scenic views of Mount Fuji and is visited by hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists every year.

 

But on April 13, there were only about 40 cars in a parking lot that can accommodate 150.

 

"Tourists are beginning to come back, but they are all Japanese," said a worker at the parking facility. There were few shoppers in the souvenir shop, selling items popular with visitors from abroad, such as "manekineko" or beckoning cats.

 

In March, the tourist center at the Hakone-Yumoto station was visited by 446 groups of foreign tourists--down 70 percent from the same month last year.

 

The town office of the hot spring resort of Hakone has been making ardent efforts to attract foreign tourists. Officials have visited many overseas travel agents with hotel owners and other executives in the local tourist industry in a promotion campaign.

 

"Our efforts to increase foreign visitors were just beginning to pay off (before the disaster)," said Shigeru Osada, of the municipal government's tourist section.

 

Hato Bus Co., Tokyo's leading sightseeing bus service, is also experiencing hard times. The number of foreign passengers has plummeted to around five per day from about 200 before the March 11 earthquake.

 

The fallout has spread far beyond eastern Japan.

 

Shima Spain Village, a Spanish theme park in Mie Prefecture, had hoped to increase the number of foreign visitors significantly from last year's 1,000. That was before March 11. Reservations by foreign travelers have been canceled and no new bookings have been made since the magnitude-9.0 earthquake.

 

At Universal Studios Japan, the number of visitors from other Asian countries, who account for nearly 10 percent of its visitors, has plummeted.

 

"There are no signs of recovery yet," said a public relations official at the theme park in Osaka.

 

Even Kyushu, 1,000 kilometers from the quake-hit areas, is feeling the pinch of the disaster.

 

At Huis Ten Bosch, a theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, featuring a traditional Dutch townscape, more than 90 percent of the hotel bookings by foreigners have been canceled. The cancellations have been apparently prompted by overseas media reports about radiation leaks from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

 

The trend is threatening to derail the central government's plan to promote tourism as part of its strategy for economic growth. The government has set an ambitious goal of attracting 30 million foreign visitors per year, up sharply from a record 8.61 million last year.

 

"Foreign tourists will continue avoiding Japan until various international institutions declare Japan to be a safe place to visit," said Toshiya Miyazaki, researcher at Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc. "Trying to spread information about the safety of visiting Japan through foreigners' blogs and word-of-mouth network would be more effective for the time being than any announcement by the government."

 

In March, the number of foreign visitors to Japan fell below 400,000 for the first time since June 2003 during the SARS epidemic, according to JNTO.

 

The events of March 11 have crushed the recovery of the nation's international tourism industry from the slump set off by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.

 

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995, Japan saw a far more moderate decline of 6.3 percent in the number of visitors in February of the same year. Despite a confluence of negative factors in 1995 such as the Kobe earthquake, the sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in March and the yen's rise, the number of foreign travelers to Japan returned to year-earlier levels in 10 months.

 

Since March 11, tourists from South Korea declined 47.4 percent to 89,100, while those from mainland China fell by 49.3 percent to 62,500. Visitors from Taiwan plunged 53 percent, to 42,100.

 

But Asian tourists are not alone in staying away from Japan. The number of U.S. visitors to Japan dropped by 45.6 percent to 38,900.

 

Many industry observers blame the trend on the radiation scare.

 

"Foreign tourists will not return until concerns about radiation disappear," said an official at a major travel agency.

 

The central government will have to review its strategy for promoting tourism as a means to revitalize local economies as well as its goal of attracting 30 million tourists a year from abroad.

 

Many international conferences scheduled to be held in Japan have been canceled since March 11. The principal reason is fear of radiation leaks from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but the effects are being felt nationwide.

 

The International Association for the Study of Pain decided to move the venue for its 14th World Congress on Pain for 2012 from the Pacifico Yokohama convention complex to Italy. Some 2,000 doctors and other experts from around the world were expected to attend the Yokohama conference.

 

An official at the complex's sales promotion section said, "I wish they would have made the decision concerning the conference next year after watching the situation for a while more because it will be held next year. There is no conceivable reason for the change other than anxiety about radiation."

 

The Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society is also considering a change of venue for its conference to be held at the Pacifico Yokohama in September.

 

Two international medical conferences that were due to be held in Kobe this autumn have been canceled.

 

Some 30 international conferences to be held in Japan have been canceled, according to the tourism agency. The number of cancellations are likely to increase in coming months, the agency predicts.

 

(This article was compiled from reports by Masaki Hashida, Hisashi Naito, Takuya Sumikawa and Tatsuro Sakata.)

[spacecadet]

Well, my wife and I are going to do our part... we're still planning to visit in June.

 

I wonder if they will have the Cassiopeia running by then.

[to2leo]

The radiation threat level that had climbed two notches to match Chernobyl's last week did further damage.  More so because it looks like the government has repressed the information until now. 

 

Tourism will eventually come back but not until people's perception is changed.  Namely, high yen value, airlines gas surtax, sense of devastation, radiation level, further government cover up and more earthquakes.  The key here is people's perceptions.

[bill937ca]

My college education was in Hospitality and one of the market formulas we were taught was Knowledge + Affluence - Fear = Tourism Market

[Tenorikuma]

Well, my wife and I are going to do our part... we're still planning to visit in June.

 

I wonder if they will have the Cassiopeia running by then.

 

 

Is it not running right now? My wife and I were thinking about riding it this June as well.

[bill937ca]

Well, my wife and I are going to do our part... we're still planning to visit in June.

 

I wonder if they will have the Cassiopeia running by then.

 

 

Is it not running right now? My wife and I were thinking about riding it this June as well.

 

Not only is there a power shortage, there also is a critical shortage of DC motor carbon brushes as a prime Hitachi supply plant is in the no-entry zone around Fukushima.

[to2leo]

If you are planning to go to Japan to help their tourism industry now, you might also need to lower your expectations.  They just have a Chernobyl level of fallout and devastation.

[spacecadet]

If you are planning to go to Japan to help their tourism industry now, you might also need to lower your expectations.  They just have a Chernobyl level of fallout and devastation.

 

No, they do not have a Chernobyl level of fallout.

[bill937ca]

Is it not running right now? My wife and I were thinking about riding it this June as well.

 

It's not running at this time.  A translation of the link below:

 

"Availability Cassiopeia (Cassiopeia Twin) reserve

East due to the earthquake, we canceled for the operation of the Cassiopeia.

Is available to customers We apologize for any inconvenience we have great."

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/cassiopeia/reserve/index.html

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/cassiopeia/index.html

[bill937ca]

If you are planning to go to Japan to help their tourism industry now, you might also need to lower your expectations.  They just have a Chernobyl level of fallout and devastation.

 

No, they do not have a Chernobyl level of fallout.

 

 

How do you figure this when the Japanese themselves say Fukushima is equal.

 

"The government's Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency raised the severity level of the crisis from level 5 to the maximum level 7 on an international scale, recognizing that it matches the world's worst nuclear catastrophe in 1986 at Chernobyl."

 

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110417p2g00m0dm074000c.html

[qwertyaardvark]

Personally, I would agree with spacecadet, that this is very overblown... I never did put too much faith on statistics/reports formed by any government... why should an arbitrary 7-notch rating have credibility now? But, to each his own. If I had plans to go to Japan now, I would still go.

 

I'll leave this chart, admittedly from a webcomic author, for people to wrap their minds around and decide for themselves where Fukushima is in comparison to Chernobyl. Its not perfect, but its better than whatever the sensationalist media or knee-jerk, hypersensitive gov agencies are reporting.

 

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

[westfalen]

Trainaway Tours 26 day tour of Japan in September is still going ahead.

[Tenorikuma]

If you are planning to go to Japan to help their tourism industry now, you might also need to lower your expectations.  They just have a Chernobyl level of fallout and devastation.

 

No, they do not have a Chernobyl level of fallout.

How do you figure this when the Japanese themselves say Fukushima is equal.

 

They're not saying it's equal, just that it meets the definition of a level 7. If the scale went high enough, Chernobyl would probably be rated a 70. It was at least ten times as bad as the Fukushima accident.

[Tenorikuma]

Is it not running right now? My wife and I were thinking about riding it this June as well.

 

It's not running at this time.  A translation of the link below:

 

"Availability Cassiopeia (Cassiopeia Twin) reserve

East due to the earthquake, we canceled for the operation of the Cassiopeia.

Is available to customers We apologize for any inconvenience we have great."

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/cassiopeia/reserve/index.html

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/cassiopeia/index.html

 

I found a news article dated to April 16 (http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/topic/286368.html) stating that Cassiopeia and Hokutosei services are on hold until May 8.

[bikkuri bahn]

I found a news article dated to April 16 (http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/topic/286368.html) stating that Cassiopeia and Hokutosei services are on hold until May 8.

 

That makes sense, as reports seem to indicate that the Tohoku Main Line will re-open in its entirety somewhere around the end of this month, barring unforeseen problems.  Otherwise, shall I suggest you take the Twilight Express, which I saw just last week running up here in Hokkaido?

 

As for the level 7 ranking, of course the scale is much less than Chernobyl, but there is speculation that the level was raised for liability reasons (i.e. to release govt. funds for cleanup/compensation).

[to2leo]

Whether it is overblown or not, Level 7 is at a pretty high and rare level for a government to declare that to the international stage.  

 

I will honestly admit that if I have relatives or friends or neighbours who is or are going to Japan right now.  I will remind them to be careful and think twice to travel North of Tokyo since both the wind and ocean currents travel that way.  Besides, the Fukushima Plant crisis won't be resolved for another nine months. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13107846

 

Until I see overseas dignitaries walking around the affected area and declare it safe (especially the French who has a wealth of experience in nuclear technology thru its testing, power reliance & recycling capabilities), I will avoid the area as much as possible.

[keitaro]

It tell you one thing as soon as this place is declared safe I'm up there that day taking photographs.

 

Love deserted areas.

 

But yeh it's more liability.

 

Issue with doing that as it will be hard to change it back down in sev level with out foreign media being stupid and making up bull crap.

[bikkuri bahn]

Until I see overseas dignitaries walking around the affected area and declare it safe...

 

Yes, because foreign dignitaries value life more than Japanese ones (sarcasm...)

[to2leo]

Hi bb,

Quite the opposite, the Japanese values their lives but their country also, while the foreign dignitaries have a choice not to visit Japan's affected areas until it is safe.  They don't live there after all.

 

Hmm, let's just put it this way, if the same crisis happens in China or Canada or France or US, would you spend thousands of dollars to go to their affected areas and visit now?

[spacecadet]

Hmm, let's just put it this way, if the same crisis happens in China or Canada or France or US, would you spend thousands of dollars to go to their affected areas and visit now?

 

If a nuclear accident happened in Virginia, would I pay thousands of dollars to visit New York City?  Absolutely.

 

Saying there's a "Chernobyl level of fallout", which is just factually wrong, also implies that there are large swaths of land - including large cities nowhere near the plant - that are being dangerously affected by radioactivity.  That's just not the case.  I actually know people who have family in Fukushima and they have no excess radiation where they are.  There's a relatively small exclusion zone around the plant and outside of that, there's really not a whole lot going on (radiation-wise).

 

It sucks for those people who live right around the plant, but tourists to Japan shouldn't be affected in the slightest by this accident, except that this summer I'll bet they won't be using air conditioning in public buildings as much (due to power shortages).

[Barobutt]

All the japanese restaurants in my town report a loss in sales due to people being worried the food is some how dangerous now.... it's really sad.

[to2leo]

 

If a nuclear accident happened in Virginia, would I pay thousands of dollars to visit New York City?  Absolutely.

 

Saying there's a "Chernobyl level of fallout", which is just factually wrong, also implies that there are large swaths of land - including large cities nowhere near the plant - that are being dangerously affected by radioactivity.  That's just not the case.  I actually know people who have family in Fukushima and they have no excess radiation where they are.  There's a relatively small exclusion zone around the plant and outside of that, there's really not a whole lot going on (radiation-wise).

 

It sucks for those people who live right around the plant, but tourists to Japan shouldn't be affected in the slightest by this accident, except that this summer I'll bet they won't be using air conditioning in public buildings as much (due to power shortages).

 

There's a reason why the Japanese or international government develop and use the rating system.  If it is all back to normal, why is it not rated level 6 or 5 or 0? 

 

I found it a bit worrying that some of you are encouraging Overseas members to go visit the affected area now while you are sitting in your own safe home miles and miles away.

 

There's a time I think like you too, Spacecadet. But after visiting New Orleans not long after Hurricane Katrina, I will think twice about visiting any affected area until it is declared the crisis is resolved, especially if you have a family to look after.  The exception being if you are a volunteer or a crisis worker, then all the power to you.

 

Yes, it is sad the crisis is affecting other safe parts of Japan in terms of tourism but until the crisis is resolved, it is understandable why tourism (nationally or internationally) is way down in Japan.

[gmat]

For my part, I've thought of retracing my visit to Iwaki when the Joban Line reopens, but decided against it as it seems too much like people rubber necking at an accident. I don't think that the locals or volunteers would appreciate that. I'm not too worried about the radiation. But that's not smart either.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[rpierce000]

It just looks like an opportunity to go back again!

 

Japan, if you haven't been there, is one of the nicest countries you will ever visit. Most things in large cities are translated into "romanji", english lettering for japanese characters. Armed with that and a decent cell phone translator app, you can go anywhere and do anything.

 

The PEOPLE are incredible. In the big cities they are nice, in the countryside I have been invited into homes for a meal, been offered a pet (I turned it down, I am not sure what I would have done with a pet chicken in Tokyo) and slept in temples when I didn't have a room. If you are not an obnoxious foreigner, and I hate to say that we Americans seem to the among the worst at this, you will find yourself feeling at home very quickly!

 

Of course, I grew up there as a small, blonde boy starting in 1971 and lived there for over 20 years, so my experience may vary, but my friends tell me similar stories.