Japan Tourism Industry Recovering After 2011 Earthquake

Japan tourism is usually a booming industry, with millions of foreign tourists from all around the world coming to visit. This is especially true in the month of April when the cherry blossoms are blooming and the weather is nice. This is not the case this year, because of a recent series of events that started with an 8.9 earthquake followed by a ten meter high tsunami. These two natural disasters killed tens of thousands of people, and then there was a problem with a radiation leak from the nuclear power plant. In the initial wake of these events many countries warned citizens not to go to Japan, and the number of tourists arriving in Japan dropped down to almost nothing. Instead foreign visitors were scrambling to leave the country, and the drastic decrease in tourism was predicted to last for many months.

In Japan tourism plays a big role in the economy of the country. While there are still some destinations which may not be the best possible location because there is still significant damage from the earthquake and tsunami, and the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still not safe to enter, many places in this country are ready for tourists again. Since early March more than half a million hotel reservations in the country have been canceled, and residents of Japan are hoping that this trend will not continue. Without tourism dollars to help the economy Japan may face even more financial difficulties, and many countries are now encouraging citizens to go ahead with any planned visits to certain areas of Japan where it is considered safe.

Earthquake & Tsunami In Japan

Since the middle of April 2011 Japan tourism has started to pick up some, with a small number of visitors arriving and spending money on tourism in the country. Before the earthquake and tsunami the country had a targeted tourism goal of eleven million people, and they were well on the way to meeting this goal. Since the events of March 11, 2011 the decline in tourism has made this number impossible to meet. The industry has slowly started to recover though, and there are some tourists in the country who have recently arrived. China and other countries in the area have encouraged their citizens to travel to Japan as a tourist, because of the vital need that tourism fills in Japan. Every part of the economy in Japan has suffered because of the events on March 11, 2011, but tourism is cautiously increasing.

The full recovery of the Japan tourism industry has not happened yet, and this will take a significant amount of time. Optimism on the part of many tourists and efforts by the Japanese government to assure foreign visitors of their safety and comfort have both played a role towards helping the tourism industry recover some in this country. Right now the tourism income that is still being missed would significantly help Japan rebuild and recover from all of the events, and repair the damage that initially started with a massive earthquake.

Japan Tourism Industry Recovering After 2011 Earthquake

Earthquake Shakes Tourism commerce

The 8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Sichuan province on May 12 would seriously hamper tourism in affected regions in the short term.

Sichuan-bound excursions are among the most popular of the firm's travel packages, generating about 10 percent of its total domestic travel revenue.

Earthquake & Tsunami In Japan

When the quake struck on May 12, 298 tourists were on Shanghai Spring International trips in the province, along with 281 visitors from Shanghai and 17 from Shanxi province. They had all been safely returned home by May 21.

Many customers bound for other regions in China cancelled their trips with the enterprise after the quake. Zhang said part of the reckon was that the natural disaster cast a "psychological shadow" over the entire nation.

The quake is the second disaster to negatively impact the country's tourism industry this year, after the worst blizzards to hit China in half a century wreaked havoc on the southern part of the country in February.

Prolonged cold weather put the chill on travelers' enthusiasm while Spring Festival. The country's tourism industry earned 39 billion Yuan while the Golden Week this year, 6.2 percent less than in 2007, Cnta figures show. Many popular traveler sites reported fewer visitors while the period, as weather and traffic concerns led many people to cancel travel plans.

China previously had three Golden Weeks a year - one while Lunar New Year, one starting from Labor Day on May 1 and one starting from National Day on October 1 - and these were the country's peak travel times. However, the government shaved several days off the Labor Day Golden Week starting from 2008, substituting it with three new communal holidays on the dates of primary festivals.

Analysts said Sichuan's local tourism industry's agents would suffer greater losses than national tourism companies, such as Shanghai Spring International.

Tourism plays a basic role in the province's economic development, accounting for more than 8 percent of its gross domestic product.

Popular destinations included Jiuzhaigou Valley, giant panda sanctuaries and Emeishan Mountain.

But despite the up-to-date setbacks, analysts and industry insiders remain obvious in the Chinese travel industry's long-term prospects.

The negative impact of natural disasters is temporary. Over the long term, China's travel industry would still experience fast growth driven by rising incomes. We would not convert our long-term ratings of the industry.

Earthquake Shakes Tourism commerce