Japan has banned travellers from 111 countries, as it plans to reinvigorate tourism following the Coronavirus pandemic. Of those on the banned list, only eleven African countries were included. Earlier in the week, Japan had proposed paying 50% of travel expenses of travellers.
Due to a 99-percent decline on its once booming tourism sector brought about by city lockdowns worldwide, the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) plans to cover half of domestic tourists’ expenses by allocating ¥1.35-trillion-budget (around $12.5 billion) as a way to encourage citizens to travel again.
According to a news report by the Japan Times, Hiroshi Tabata of JTA stated that the government seeks “to boost domestic tourism by subsidizing a portion of travel expenses once the coronavirus outbreak is brought under control.”
If the plan gets the go signal, it may be immediately implemented as early as July, but nothing is set in stone. Not to further raise any false hope, the Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has recently proclaimed a travel ban from 111 countries, including the Philippines.
The government had initially ordered visa suspensions and/or 14-day quarantine period for all arrivals from these countries to maintain strict border control measures. The ban, which takes effect this Wednesday, May 27, also applies to foreigners who have visited these countries within the last 14 days.
The list of countries banned from entering Japan includes:
Asia: Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand
North America: Canada, United States
Latin America and the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Uruguay
Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican
Middle East: Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
Africa: Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritius, Morocco, Sao Tome & Principe
Source: lifestyle.mb.com.ph
