An overhead crane which fell at a Shinkansen maintenance plant in Kumamoto Prefecture. Photo credit: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
THE Japanese government has unveiled measures to help tourism players in earthquake-hit Kyushu get back on its feet.
Large parts of central Kyushu, which was hit by two powerful earthquakes in mid-April, suffered extensive damage to property and infrastructure, causing tour operators to cancel hundreds of scheduled visits due to fears over aftershocks.
Authorities are now offering tourists discounts of up to 70 per cent for hotel stays and packaged tours in the region as part of the aid programme.
With 18 billion yen (US$165.2 million) earmarked, the government hopes to galvanize demand and increase arrivals of at least one night in the region by 1.5 million by end-2016.
“Here at JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization), we are also trying to consolidate our special promotional efforts, with a particular emphasis on visitors from South Korea due to its proximity to Kyushu,” said Mamoru Kobori, senior executive director of JNTO.
He added: “We are seeing rapid improvements in recovery, but there is still some way to go and we are trying to get our message across within the industry by inviting tourism officials and journalists to the region to see it for themselves. We really want to show people that it is safe to travel in Kyushu.”
A number of other travel companies are taking also taking their own measures, such as Kyushu Railway Co. introducing a special one-day discount pass that can be used between June 4 and July 18 on the company’s local and bullet train lines.
