TOKYO (JAPAN) – The Japanese government initiated a national travel campaign on Wednesday to buttress the battered tourism industry. But the move has drawn flak as the number of coronavirus infections is showing a spurt.
The government’s “Go To Travel” campaign has been dubbed “Go To Trouble” by local media outfits. The campaign offers subsidies of up to 50% on trips to and from prefectures excluding the nation’s capital. Tokyo was purged from the list last weeks as the number of infections touched new highs.
Several governors want the government to put on hold the campaign fearing that it could spread the pandemic in rural areas which have low infection numbers. As much as 69% of citizens want the drive to be cancelled according to a Mainichi newspaper survey this week.
“There is no change to our stance to cautiously restart economic activity, while asking the public to cooperate in preventing the spread of the coronavirus,” said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike urged residents to remain at home during a four-day weekend that begins on Thursday.
“It’s essential for the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions to refrain from making unnecessary outings,” Koike said.
Many businessmen in the travel sector are miffed over what they perceive is a lack of clarity in the campaign.
“It’s clear the government is scrambling and was totally unprepared. It’s also so hard to get information about this scheme because things change a lot,” said a general manager of a mid-sized Osaka business hotel.
According to Hiroaki Gofuku, the president and general manager of Hotel Nikko Osaka, the campaign would buttress the ailing tourism industry. But he was wary of not being too optimistic.
“Tokyo is our big market,” he said. “With this mess, we’re actually seeing more cancellations.”
Economic Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura is also slated to put on hold the phased reopening of stadiums during a meeting on Wednesday.
Earlier, the government had planned to ease curbs on stadiums and concert halls in August, allowing them to operate at half capacity. But the plans are likely to be reversed as the daily infection cases are on the rise.
Tokyo authorities said on Wednesday that daily infections would reach more than 230.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field