Editor's Note: Shortly after this story's publication, Japan's prime minister announced that the country will open its borders to international visitors in June, but only for packaged tours.
Closed now for two years to international vacationers, Japan appears to be hinting at reopening its borders to foreign tourists this summer. And while speculation has intensified about exactly when the popular tourism destination might relax its strict border controls, some visitor industry stakeholders are not convinced change is coming anytime soon.
On Tuesday, meanwhile, a group of U.S.-based travel sellers arrived in Tokyo as part of a test tourism initiative announced earlier this month by the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA). All told, the test program will feature 10 to 15 different hosted trips for visitor industry professionals from the U.S., Australia, Singapore and Thailand, according to Koichi Wada, the JTA commissioner, who said during a May 19 Tokyo press conference that the fam tours were initially scheduled for late 2021, but postponed due to concern about the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
“We can finally carry out what we prepared since last year, which will be a huge step for Japan,” Wada said.
Japan tourism officials said each of the test program’s group tours won’t be any larger than four industry professionals — all of whom will be fully vaccinated and boosted. The tours will bring a total of 50 foreign internationals to Japan through the end of May and will be used to help develop safety protocols for tour operators and hoteliers in the destination, Wada said.
“In order to foster a sense of security in this county, I would like to make the most of this project and make solid preparations toward the tourism reopening,” Wada explained.
Is Japan Reopening to Tourists From the U.S. in June?
Japan has been closed to international vacationers since April 3, 2020, but there has been talk in recent weeks of a possible June reopening to foreign tourists. That speculation was sparked by comments made May 5 in London by Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who mentioned the tightening of his country’s border restrictions due to Omicron.
We still do not know whether the country will fully reopen in June. The country plans to reopen gradually after careful examination of the small-group tours in May.
“We have now eased border control measures significantly,” Kishida said, “with the next easing taking place in June, when Japan will introduce a smoother entry process similar to that of other G7 members.”
Kay Allen, a spokesperson for the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in Los Angeles, said the prime minister’s hints about a possible June reopening of international tourism have generated excitement not only among visitor industry stakeholders in the destination, but also U.S.-based travel sellers who specialize in sending vacationers to Japan.
“However, we still do not know whether the country will fully reopen in June,” Allen cautioned. “The country plans to reopen gradually after careful examination of the small-group tours in May.”
Japan Travel Agents Tell Clients That Japan Has Not Lifted Travel Ban Yet
Elaine Baran, the Las Vegas-based president of Japan tour operator Esprit Travel and Tours, isn’t taking any deposits for their FIT and group tour products booked to the destination before this October.
“We’re assuming things will be open enough in fall, so anyone traveling in October and onward , we feel comfortable taking money from them,” she said.
Some U.S. travel sellers say they’re not seeing a great deal of demand yet for vacations to Japan.
Credit: 2022 Japan National Tourism OrganizationBaran said Japan’s two-year closure to international vacationers has been devastating for her company.
“It’s been no income for five seasons, going on six,” she explained, noting spring and fall are Japan’s peak seasons, due to the humidity and heat of summers there and the cold in winter.
Baran said she has been booking quite a few trips to Japan for 2023 — especially in March, May and June — and she noted some Kyoto hotels are already sold out during some springtime stretches next year. But Baran said demand at the moment for Esprit Travel’s tour products is only about 40% of what it was prior to the pandemic.
I have one client who has rebooked four times because every time we think it’s going to reopen, we rebook everything and then it turns out they really can’t get in.
“There’s a lot of reticence now from people,” she explained. “I have one client who has rebooked four times because every time we think it’s going to reopen, we rebook everything and then it turns out they really can’t get in.”
Ambrose Bittner, the founder of Seattle-based tour operator Red Lantern Journeys, said he’s seen a slight uptick in interest about Japan over the past month, and had one couple who reached out to him recently asking about booking an extended honeymoon to the destination this July.
“And I had to tell them, ‘It’s just too uncertain right now to go to Japan in July,’” said Bittner, who lived there in the 1990s and has been selling the destination for 15 years. “We still don’t know when the announcement will come about an official reopening. … So, I just told them, ‘Don’t do Japan yet.’”
Red Lantern specializes in FIT tour products across Asia, and like Baran, he said the pandemic has been “devastating” for his business. Bittner said he has, however, been booking clients on vacations to destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for later this summer and the rest of this year. But even with the increased speculation about a possible June reopening, Red Lantern is not marketing any Japan products now.
Until they really make their announcements in June after these fam trips, it’s just still too unreliable.
Bittner said if a client phoned him today and asked about traveling to Japan sometime this fall, he’d encourage that individual to wait.
“Until they really make their announcements in June after these fam trips, it’s just still too unreliable,” he said.
According to the JNTO’s Allen, 1.7 million U.S. travelers visited Japan in 2019, and she said her organization’s industry partners have been reporting a great deal of pent-up demand for the destination.
“The inbound industry players are excited,” Allen said. “They have been urging the government to reopen the country for international travelers. … The U.S. is one of the important markets for Japan in terms of [size] and spending, and the lack of those visitors has very much damaged the local economies.”
