Japan’s Go To Travel domestic tourism subsidy program may resume in February after being suspended since late last year amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, with the campaign to include compulsory virus countermeasures, government sources said Thursday.
While the number of new and serious COVID-19 cases in the country has sharply declined recently along with the progress of the vaccination program, the government believes it still needs to evaluate whether oral drugs for preventing serious symptoms will be available by the end of the year, the sources said.
The government is planning to require people taking advantage of the Go To Travel program to show proof of vaccination or a negative virus test result when they check into accommodation and on other occasions, according to the sources.
The tourism-boosting campaign, which covers 50% of travel costs up to ¥20,000 per person per night, began in July 2020 to support the industry amid the pandemic-caused downturn, but was suspended last December due to the rapid spread of infections.
Opposition parties criticized the program as a factor in the resurgence of virus infections. A total of 87.81 million hotel stays were made under the campaign by Dec. 28 last year when it was halted, with the government spending ¥2.7 trillion on the scheme.
The tourism industry and local governments that were financially devastated by the pandemic have been calling for the Go To Travel program to be quickly restarted.
After its suspension, the Japan Tourism Agency subsidized prefectural governments’ own tourism campaigns that promoted travel for residents within their home prefectures.
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