As Japan throws open its doors to visitors this week after more than two years of pandemic isolation, hopes for a tourism boom face tough headwinds amid shuttered shops and a shortage of hospitality workers.
to dozens of countries, ending some of world’s strictest border controls to slow the spread of COVID-19. Prime Minister Fumiois counting on tourism to help invigorate the economy and reap some benefits from the yen’s slide to a 24-year low.
Just over half a million visitors have come to Japan so far in 2022, compared with a record 31.8 million in 2019. The government had a goal of 40 million in 2020 timed with the Summer Olympics until both were upended by the coronavirus. “It’s like half a ghost town,” said 70-year old Maria Satherley from New Zealand, gesturing at the Terminal 1 departure area.
Japan still strongly encourages that people wear masks indoors and refrain from loud talking. The Cabinet on Friday approved changing hotel regulations so that they can refuse guests who do not obey infection controls during an outbreak. In Kawaguchiko, a lake town at the foot of Mt. Fuji, inns had difficulty staffing before the pandemic amidand they anticipate a similar bottleneck now, said a trade group staffer who asked not to be identified.
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