Japan begins new visa incentive plan for Chinese tourists

Japan will grant three-year multiple-entry visas to Chinese tourists visiting earthquake-hit areas from July 1, China National Radio reported yesterday, citing the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Industry experts told the Global Times yesterday that such a move is aimed at helping Japan revive its tourism industry following the catastrophic earthquake last March.

According to the program, Chinese tourists can get three-year multiple-entry visas to Japan, on the condition that they spend one night or more in one of the three earthquake-hit prefectures - Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi.

They can stay up to 90 days per visit and are allowed to go to other places in Japan on their second and subsequent visits.

It is good news for Chinese tourists because it offers easier access to visas to Japan and it will boost travel to the country, Hou Tao, director of Qunar Tourism Research College, told the Global Times yesterday.

China ranked second behind South Korea in terms of the number of tourists visiting Japan in 2011, but they spent the most money, at 196.4 billion yen ($2.44 billion), among foreign tourists, Japan's tourism agency said in early May.

As well as the three prefectures, the economy of the whole country would be enhanced by increased tourism, with benefits to air travel, accommodation and shopping, said Hou, who believes that more areas of Japan will offer such trial programs.

This is the second time that Japan has offered multiple-entry visas for Chinese tourists. Last July, Okinawa Prefecture started a similar program.

The number of Chinese tourists traveling to Okinawa surged by 87 percent in 2011 over the previous year, according to data from the Japanese authorities.

Meanwhile, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan dropped to 1.04 million in 2011 from 1.41 million in 2010 due to the earthquake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan.

However, Yao Yao, marketing director of China Comfort Travel Agency, was not optimistic about the effect of Japan's new tourism policy.

"Unlike Okinawa, which is an island with special characteristics, Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi are not popular tourist sites among Chinese people, and many are still worried about the effect of the earthquake and nuclear radiation," Yao told the Global Times yesterday.

"So we will not launch tours specially designed for these areas at the moment," said Yao.

"Japan is an attractive country, and I would like to visit it again, but I would rather go to safe places," said Nan Wei, an office clerk working in Beijing who visited Japan in late March.