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Japan opens to foreign tourists after two years

Japan Tourism - Level 4

Japan will reopen to tourists from 98 countries after being closed for two years. The opening will be tightly controlled. Only tour groups will be allowed in. A daily cap of 20,000 arrivals has been set and their movements will be monitored. All visitors have to test negative for Covid. Some will need an additional test and quarantine for three days. Japan has had very strict border controls. This played a part in its relatively low number of coronavirus cases.

Japan's tourism industry welcomed the news. It has suffered in the past two years. The number of overseas visitors fell by over 99 per cent in 2020. It fell from 32 million in 2019 to just 250,000 in 2021. A Japanese airline hoped the looser border controls would help the economy. Japan's relaxing of its entry restrictions is timely. Last week, the World Economic Forum ranked the country highest on its list of global travel destinations.

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Japan Tourism - Level 5

Japan will reopen to tourists and end its two-year closure. The government decided to allow tourists from 98 countries. However, the opening will be tightly controlled. Only package tour groups will be allowed in. A daily cap of 20,000 arrivals has been set. Authorities will monitor their movements to track Covid-19. All visitors have to test negative for Covid. Some may have to have an additional test and quarantine for three days. Japan has among the strictest border controls of any country. Its isolation has played a part in its relatively low number of coronavirus cases.

Japan's tourism industry welcomed this news. It has suffered heavily over the past two years. The number of overseas visitors fell by over 99 per cent since pre-pandemic days. A record 32 million overseas tourists visited in 2019. However, Covid caused this number to drop to just 250,000 in 2021. Japan's airline ANA said it hoped the looser border controls would revitalize the local economy. Japan relaxing its entry restrictions is timely. Last week, the World Economic Forum ranked the country highest on its list of global travel destinations.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Japan Tourism - Level 6

Japan will reopen to overseas tourists and end its two-year pandemic closure. The government has decided to allow tourists from 98 countries from June the 10th. However, the opening will be tightly controlled. Initially, only package tour groups will be allowed in. A daily cap of 20,000 arrivals has been set. Authorities will monitor their movements to track any spread of Covid-19. All visitors have to test negative for Covid before they travel to Japan. Some may have to undergo an additional test and quarantine for three days. Japan has among the strictest border controls of any country. Its self-imposed isolation has played a part in its relatively low number of coronavirus cases.

Japan's change of stance is welcome news for its tourism industry, which has suffered heavily over the past two years. The number of overseas visitors has fallen by over 99 per cent since pre-pandemic days. Japan saw a record 32 million foreign visitors in 2019. It was on track to achieve its goal of 40 million in 2020. However, Covid caused the number of inbound tourists to plummet to just 250,000 in 2021. The president of the Japanese airline ANA said: "I hope the border controls are loosened at the same pace as in other G7 countries to revitalize the local economy." Japan's loosening of its entry restrictions is timely. Last week, the World Economic Forum ranked Japan highest on its list of global travel destinations.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson