After an interrupted time, the tour program to Japan has officially resumed. According to the latest information, almost all of tourism places in the cherry blossom country have become as usual. A number of famous cities like Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have been crowded with tourists again. The Japanese government is also striving to lure visitors with attractive policies.
The double disaster of tsunami and earthquake occurred right in the reason of cherry blossom festivals. As a result, the Japan tours of millions of tourists across the world were postponed. The tourists were consulted to follow the similar tours in South Korea and the US, but a majority of them decided to delay their travel because they still wished to discover and experience feelings in the country which is really home to cherry blossom.
Ms Hoa in Tan Dinh District, Ho Chi Minh City said she and her husband had planned for the cherry blossom tour to Japan to celebrate the third anniversary of wedding. The journey did not take place on schedule because of the tsunami and earthquake. Hoa, however, said that they are keen on landscapes there as well as admiring to Japanese people’s resilience, adding they will surely make a trip to the country. Sharing the same opinion, Ms Mai Lan is also interested in a tour to Japan, but worries about the issue of radiation. If the situation becomes more stable and there’s tour by prestigious travel agent, I will join to possibly keep the latest images of the country which brings me a lot of amazing things.
Vietravel is the first travel agent who has dared to resume tours to Japan in June. Vietravel representative said a company delegation has come to Japan from May 26-31 to get information relating to the tourist places of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and even Kobe. In order to meet the demand of lots of tourists after the time interrupted, the company has decided to resume the market from June. Regarding prices, passengers registering for the tour of Tokyo – Fuji mountain – Nagoya – Kyoto – Osaka departing from Ho Chi Minh City on June 26 and July 17 can be discounted from VND8 million to VND12 million. The special discount is only VND44.99 million per passenger. Other big travel agents like Fiditour, Saigontourist, Redtours are also preparing to resume the tours to the market as soon as possible.
Japan is currently the important market of Vietnam’s tourism. In 2010, the total Japanese tourist arrivals to Vietnam was over 440,000. Vietravel has exploited the Japanese market since 1995. Last year, Vietravel served more than 30,000 Japanese visitors for inbound tours to Viet Nam. In terms of outbound tours to Japan, Vietravel organizes about four to five delegations on average per month. During the cherry blossom festival, spring and summer festivals, the figure can climb to eight to ten delegations per month. In addition, GIT visitors often choose Japan to hold MICE tours, conferences, workshops and market survey tours.
At present, the situation in Japan has gradually become stable. Apart from urgently recovering the natural disaster consequences, the Japanese government has also offered solutions to boost again the country’s tourism. Under an article of author Timothy Hornyak in Lonely Planet issued May 10, big airlines worldwide have also offered discount programs for flights to Japan. Although there are still tourists showing their worry of radiation, experts from the US, UK, World Health Organization affirm that tourists can be secure to come to Japan, providing that they keep a distance of 50 miles or 80 kilometres far from Fukusima Daiichi nuclear power plant. In fact, the plant is 240 kilometers far from Tokyo, tripling the permitted safety distance.
Giang Tu
Vietnamese
