After the devastating earthquake and resulting Tsunamis tourism fell by 62% for April and 3.9% for the rest of 2011. However, tourism today in Japan is much better than anyone would have thought last year because of forceful marketing by the Japanese Tourism officials. In one attempt to bring people back to the country, they offered free airfare for 10,000 lucky visitors. Potential travelers submitted an application and then were chosen randomly. They only had to post about their experience online after the trip. Through this and other tactics, Japan is making a come back oly a year after all of the devastation. The World Travel and Tourism Council issued a report Wednesday, predicting that international tourism will generate $129 billion in spending in Japan in 2012, compared to $128.5 billion generated in 2010.
Found March 7th
Lauren Neeleman
http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-japan-tourism-20120307,0,3590749.story
Cool facts Lauren. Is there anymore lucky visitors to get a free trip? I wouldn't find going for free.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no kidding. Sign me up for this one! You know, I wonder if our visit to Japan will be less crowded because of the earthquakes? It could work out really well for travel within the country and finding lodging.
ReplyDeleteTHis is so awesome for Japan. i remember when this all happen. it looked like things for tourism wouldn't pick up for a long time
ReplyDeleteResponding to Jeff's comment, from my personal experiences in Japan I have found that it's only really crowded in Tokyo and some of the other really large cities (e.g., Osaka). Other than that, visiting most cities in Japan isn't akin to a overly uncomfortable experience with claustrophobia (as it tends to be thought of).
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see that they actually followed through with the "free tickets" plan. I had wanted some myself and my wife for this summer, but am I to understand they have all already been distributed? Too bad.