Konnichi-wow.
As hot destinations like Italy and Spain say “basta!” and, well, “¡Basta!” the scourge of overtourism, one popular country apparently likes having visitors a lot, they’re giving them free flights.
Japan Airlines is currently shelling out free domestic hops inside the island nation to international travelers — at a time when the world’s manga capital is has also experienced unprecedented levels of interest, thanks partly to a significantly weakened yen.
The carrier said that the goal of the promotion is to advertise Japan’s more off-the-beaten-bath locales. The deal is on the market to people traveling from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, the Philippines, China, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
Passengers must first book international round-trip tickets after which book domestic flights on the identical purchase to see the savings.
Failing to maneuver on from the most important hubs inside 24 hours will see passengers slapped with a $100 penalty in the shape of a layover fee.
While the intention is to bring attention to less-appreciated attractions outside of the same old circuit, experts fear things could backfire — resulting in more people in already saturated locales.
Because it is, World Travel and Tourism Council research projects Japan to rake in a record-breaking $42B equivalent in travel revenue before the 12 months ends.
That’s 5.7% over 2019 — the last record-holder.
“People will proceed to flock to popular destinations like Tokyo, no matter free tickets, because they’re major attractions,” Sara Aiko, founding father of the Curated Kyoto travel agency, told Business Insider.
“Hotel prices have skyrocketed as a result of tourism, making it difficult for a lot of locals to remain at places they used to enjoy,” Aiko said.
Ben Julius, founding father of Tourist Japan agrees, noting that just about all of his clients wish to see icons like Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Mount Fuji, where tourists have relentlessly been irritating the area people.
“The vast majority of visitors are first-time visitors,” he said.
“And when people visit Japan for the primary time, they won’t miss the must-see cities.”
On top of the potential backfiring, Japan travel adviser Amy Thomasson also thinks it might be a tourist head-scratcher that they ultimately opt out of.
She said it “doesn’t make sense for many travelers” as a result of extra costs incurred by adding latest destinations on to their original trip, not to say the possible layover fee in the event that they opt to not.