Japan agents get aid to bring tourism back to quake-hit Tottori

tottori-prefecture
Tottori Prefecture

Plans are underway to lure tourists back to Japan’s Tottori Prefecture in western Honshu after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake on October 21 led to widespread trip cancellations there.

Kurayoshi City, situated near the epicenter of both the quake and the 4.6 magnitude aftershock, was worst affected by the disaster, but loss in arrivals has been felt across the entire area.

Kenichi Taki of Tottori Prefecture’s tourism strategy division says about 10,000 people have cancelled their hotel reservations since the quake. As well, according to Miho Kuwana, spokesperson for Nippon Travel Agency, one third of its bookings to Tottori were cancelled after the quake.

Now, while nine hotels remain closed in Tottori, of which two are ryokans located in the central Kurayoshi area, according to Koichi Tomiyoka of the Kurayoshi City Hotel Ryokan Association, many in the prefecture are springing back into business.

A representative of Hotel New Otani Tottori said that they had to close and had received cancellations immediately following the quake. But the hotel has opened for business the very next day. Tottori City Hotel too has resumed normal operations after suffering some cancellations.

“Most of the hotels are fully operational,” said Taki, adding that the prefecture is working on encouraging tourists to return. “We are planning to provide subsidies such as discount coupons to people who reserve a trip through travel agents such as JTB and Rakuten Travel.”

Kuwana agrees that this type of scheme could be successful and wants to cooperate with the prefecture to reinvigorate travel to the region.

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