SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/AsiaNews): On Sunday (June 12), Jane Lam booked an 8-day, 7-night family theme park package in Central Japan with travel agency EU Holidays for her family. Four.
The 44-year-old housewife, who will be travelling with her husband and two children, aged 14 and 16, has booked a tour package that includes trips to Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan.
Her family last visited Japan four years ago, and her children are excited to revisit Japan in December.
“We chose Japan because of the theme parks. We didn’t consider other countries to have theme parks because we didn’t want to fly long distances,” Lim said.
She was one of those who booked Japan tour packages as Japan reopened its borders to tourists from June 10.
Travellers from 98 countries and territories, including Singapore, regardless of their vaccination status, can enter Japan without quarantine as long as they test negative for polymerase chain reaction before leaving the country.
The first tourists are expected to arrive in Japan this week due to administrative procedures. The Japanese government is accepting the registration of travel agencies through a new portal, where they must enter travel participant information, including passport numbers and accommodation details, in order to apply for tourist visas.
The visas are a new requirement for Singapore and other passport holders who were previously able to travel to Japan visa-free.
The Japan Tourism Agency said the visas could take at least five working days to be approved.
With these requirements, several travel agencies interviewed by The Straits Times said their tour packages would start in July.
Jeremiah Wong, senior marketing communications manager at Chan Brothers Travel, said the “earliest departure” was expected to be after mid-July due to travel requirements and documents such as tourist visa applications.
Likewise, EU Holidays Marketing Manager Mandy Chen said the first three-person private tour will be launched on July 15 to the Tohoku, and the first 15-person tour to Hokkaido will be launched on July 23.
Wong Yew Hoong, head of the travel agency, added that the tour packages will start in July as tourists can only apply for tourist visas last week.
Likewise, Peggie Chung, deputy general manager of Hong Thai Travel, said Japan visa applications were also its main focus.
She added that it had started group bookings in July, but from September people seemed to be “more comfortable” booking.
“Our first passengers include flights to Yamagata and Hokkaido on September 27 and October 14.”
Although tour groups began traveling to Japan in July, travel agencies reported a surge in bookings since the May 17 announcement that the country would reopen to tourists.
About 400 people have booked Japan so far, up from 200 since the travel agency held the Japan Travel Fair on May 21-22, said Chen of EU Holidays.
“(From) now until the end of the year, we have prepared 100 groups to visit different parts of Japan,” she said.
Chan Brothers Travel’s Wong also said demand for his Japan tours continued to grow.
At the end of April, the travel agency launched a series of popular Japanese tours with groups of up to 30 people. In mid-May, a series of small group tours of up to 9 people was also launched.
“As of the end of May, the Japan tour had formed more than 25 groups, and now it has increased to more than 50 groups,” Huang said.
However, some travelers prefer to take a wait-and-see approach before heading to Japan.
Visitors to Japan must also purchase travel insurance, be accompanied by a tour guide “from arrival to departure”, follow a strict itinerary and obey rules such as wearing a mask most of the time or facing deportation.
Agatha Lim, who wants to travel to Japan, is waiting to see if the country will further ease border restrictions.
“Going on a tour means I have to follow a certain itinerary. I prefer to go on my own and travel with my own plan,” said the 29-year-old business executive, adding that tour packages are also expensive.
On Monday (June 13), Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific said it viewed the Japanese government’s decision to lift border measures as a “positive step”. However, it urged the complete lifting of international air travel restrictions as the industry cannot fully recover under restrictions.
Stefano Baronci, ACI’s Asia-Pacific director general, said restrictions on international travel would do little to stop the spread of Covid-19, but would have a significant impact on the economy.
