Since the 10th, the Japanese government has announced that it will resume accepting foreign tourists for the first time in two years since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan compiled guidelines to distribute to foreign tourists and tourism-related workers, and the government distributed guidelines to safely resume the acceptance of foreign tourists.

It has been announced that it will ease regulations on group package tourists, etc., not individual tourists.

However, those who want to travel to Japan and those in the tourism sector are welcoming the deregulation.

“Since the Japanese government announced that it would resume accepting tourists, there have been daily calls, especially in Asia, from Thailand,” a travel agency specializing in travel to Japan said

Due to the phenomenon mentioned by the travel agency above, people currently working in the Japanese tourism-related industry are expecting a lot. This is because more than 31 million foreign tourists came to Japan every year three years (before the pandemic).

Currently, sales and the economy have fallen in the region where foreign tourists have come for two years since the pandemic, but I believe that sales and the economy will gradually grow, starting with partial deregulation, not the whole.

Currently, various regional autonomous districts in Japan are preparing various things for foreign tourists.

In the guidebook or guidebook, it is said that the direction of preparing languages in various languages or supporting various foreign languages is being prepared.

In particular, workers in Fukuoka’s related industries, which were previously famous as tourist destinations, said that for a while, the restaurant and lodging industries were hit hard by the decrease in the number of tourists coming due to regulations.

It was said that the consumption of food and food materials decreased due to the decrease in tourists. However, he said that the economy is revitalizing again due to the deregulation and that he believes it will be more.

And based on the resumption of accepting foreign group tourists, we hope that the number of customers on personal trips will gradually increase.”

In addition, Okinawa Prefecture once saw the number of flights fall to zero due to the Pendemic, and it is currently hoping that such deregulation will revitalize the economy in Okinawa Prefecture.

Package tour fares are expected to be more than 40 percent higher than before the pandemic, but many people are trying to pay the price even if the price is a little high at this time when travel regulations have been eased because of the pandemic.

Currently, Japan-related travel package products are sold out in Korea as soon as they start selling them on the Internet.

Currently, reservations at Hana Tour, one of the travel agencies in Korea, rose 284 percent. Also, people are increasingly interested in overseas travel because it is currently the time for summer vacation and vacation from July to August.

Also, foreigners are not the only ones who like Japanese government deregulation. Fans who like foreign idols and contents in Japan have been suspended or reduced from concerts and music-related events in Japan before due to the pandemic. However, it is said that music-related events, which have been reduced so far due to deregulation from this month, will be held again. In that respect, people who like overseas idols have said they want to see concerts quickly and are showing expectations for it.

Currently, there are various reasons why foreigners want to travel to Japan.

The first reason is that Japanese animation businesses and cultural contents are very good as tourism factors.

Second, we can talk about the yen’s low current depreciation.

The Japanese yen has now fallen very much.

The falling yen value of Japan is an attractive factor for foreign tourists to choose to come to Japan. The reason is that the economic burden caused by consumption activities such as buying goods in Japan is less.

For this reason, the demand for package tours to Japan is increasing in various Asian countries other than Japan.

Currently, the Japanese government also says it expects the economic revitalization of foreigners due to this phenomenon.

SOPHIA KIM

Asia Journal 

The number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases in Japan is noticeably decreasing. In Tokyo (2190.9), which is about 3.5 times the area of Seoul (605.2), the number of confirmed cases per day during the month of November was only 31. Even on a national scale, the number of confirmed cases per day throughout November was less than 300. This is a surprising number considering that the infection explosion continued immediately after the Tokyo Olympics, resulting in an average of 10,000 to 20,000 confirmed cases a day. Due to the sharp drop in the number of confirmed cases, Japanese society is rapidly recovering its daily lives. Immediately after the emergency declaration was lifted at the end of September, regulations on operating hours in public libraries and indoor gymnasiums in Tokyo were drastically eased and returned to pre-COVID-19 levels from November. Restrictions on liquor sales and business hours in restaurants have also been lifted altogether. From December 1, infection prevention measures, which require only four people per table to eat, have also been eased to eight. Measures to set the number of spectators at sports events and concert halls to less than 10,000 have also been eased, allowing them to be accommodated without an upper limit if they are within 50% of the capacity. Regarding the easing of such infection prevention measures, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said, “It is important to thoroughly take basic infection prevention measures while resuming socio-economic activities.”

Professor Kazuhiro Tateda, a member of the Japanese government’s COVID-19 Countermeasure Subcommittee, said of the current infection situation, “Two months have passed since the declaration of an emergency was lifted at the end of September, but the nationwide decline is still maintained. The vaccination rate also exceeded 76% of those who completed the second vaccination, and the number of infected people nationwide is maintained at a low level, so it continues to be in very good condition, he said. However, the increasingly cold weather is creating an environment where viruses are likely to spread, and if the vaccine effect weakens in December and January, the factors that induce an increase in infection will increase, he pointed out. Tokyo, where the downtown area is recovering from population movement.

On the afternoon of November 28, Shinjuku, a downtown area in Tokyo, was filled with citizens even though the weather suddenly became chilly. Most of the cafes in the large shopping center were full, and the donut chain Mr. Donut even produced a line of more than 10 citizens for admission. Shinokubo, a Korean town in Tokyo, about 20 minutes’ walk from Shinjuku, was so crowded that it was hard to believe that it was a COVID-19 situation. In front of the store that sells Korean-style hot dogs and hotteok, nearly 20 people were waiting for the order. A citizen (20s office worker), who was waiting for entry in front of a Korean restaurant, said, “I visited the Korean town because I wanted to eat Korean food after watching the popular drama Squid Game… I didn’t know there would be this many people,” he said. It is strange to hear that there is no significant difference in vaccination rates (in Korea and Japan) regarding the recent surge in the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Korea while the trend continues to decline in Japan. Japan also said, “It is clear that the number of confirmed cases will increase significantly around January.” The Japanese government announced on November 29 that it would ban all foreigners from entering the country after a new mutant virus Omicron was discovered in South Africa. Less than a month after the business purpose visit to Japan, international students, and functional trainees were granted new entry, the border closure was announced again on November 8. Regarding the ban on new foreigners entering the country, Akiko Moriya, director of the Yokohama City University’s Global Promotion Office, said in an interview with NHK, “It’s a pity that (foreign students) entry was banned as soon as they thought they would resume, but I don’t think we can help it.” However, despite the ban on new foreigners entering the country, a person infected with Omicron was found in Japan on November 30. According to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the infected person was a Namibian diplomat in his 30s and had no symptoms when he arrived at Narita Airport on November 28. However, the PCR test conducted immediately after entering the country was positive, and the genetic analysis of the sample confirmed that it was an Omicron infection. The man entered the country with two family members, but the remaining two were reportedly tested negative.

Japanese citizens expressed their concerns with the Omicron variant as they just recovered from the previous wave of the virus. Citizens’ anxiety is rising in Okinawa Prefecture, where U.S. military bases in Japan are concentrated in connection with the Japanese government’s ban on new entry following the discovery of Omicron. This is because new U.S. troops are still able to enter the country due to visa exemption measures under the U.S. Security Agreement. On November 30, Ryukyu Shinbo, a local media outlet in Okinawa Prefecture, pointed out the uncertainty of information sharing from the U.S. military, saying, “There is a possibility that Omicron will spread through U.S. military bases that are not subject to quarantine in Japan.”Attention is focusing on whether it will lead to the shock of Omicron and implementation of economic measures.

On November 19, the Kishida Cabinet announced economic measures worth 55.7 trillion yen (about 570 trillion won) to restore the sluggish Japanese economy in the aftermath of the coronavirus. A case in point is the resumption of the “Go To Travel” campaign, which the government supports up to half of domestic travel expenses to revitalize the tourism business and boost domestic demand. The campaign began in July last year, but was suspended during Suga’s cabinet due to increased infection. However, there are also voices of concern in the tourism industry that the occurrence of Omicron may make it difficult to resume the campaign. Prime Minister Kishida showed caution on November 29, saying, “I want to review (whether to resume) after seeing the infection situation at the end of the year and New Year holidays. The resumption of the campaign is a prerequisite to ensure safety and safety and stabilize the infection situation at this point, Saita Tetsuo said at a press conference held on November 30. “There are many unclear parts about Omicron, but I want to keep an eye on future infections.”

Mike Choi

Asia Journal

The U.S. initially imposed travel restrictions on foreigners from countries such as Great Britain, Ireland, China, India, Brazil, and more at the beginning of the pandemic. Many of these countries were exhibiting high numbers of coronavirus cases, which led the White House to take action.

On October 25, Biden signed off on an order that would allow foreigners into U.S land. He stated, “It is in the interests of the United States to move away from the country-by-country restrictions previously applied during the COVID-19 pandemic and to adopt an air travel policy that relies primarily on vaccination to advance the safe resumption of international air travel to the United States.”

In order to enter the United States as a foreigner, you would have to show proof of vaccination that has been approved under the WHO (World Health Organization) guidelines. Those vaccines include Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca-Oxford, Sinopharm, and Sinovac. The list excludes the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, due to the WHO flagging manufacturing concerns.

Unvaccinated travelers may still be able to enter the U.S. with certain exceptions, such as those who are allergic to the COVID-19 vaccines and those who have participated in vaccine trials.

However, despite being fully vaccinated, the United States government still requires people to take a coronavirus test three days before their trip (one day before for those who are unvaccinated). Once they arrive, the CDC requires visitors to take another COVID test within 3-5 days after landing. Travelers are also supposed to self-quarantine for a week.

In accordance with the news of travel restrictions being lifted, U.S. airline, hotel and cruise industry stocks went up by small margins. This is exciting considering that international airline travel has been down by nearly half during the summer and over 20% since pre-COVID times. Now airlines are seeing a stark increase in international ticket sales, which would hopefully aid tourism in the United States immensely.

COVID-19 has profound impacts on every aspect of human society, with case numbers reported in real time; frustrating news published by media agencies or clickbaits on social media; and human activities changed or limited. Economic activities are plummeting or fluctuating around the globe. Some sectors in the market quickly recovered and surged, while some didn’t, based on each industry’s market resilience. Global tourism and events industry, which is still at the bottom, was crippled, including community festivals, conferences, sports events, and so on.

Booth of Gangwon Tourism Organization in Korea’s Best Festival Show

The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that only one of 358 festivals, which was scheduled to hold in early 2020, succeeded to hold. Most of them were postponed to late 2020, which ended up being scaled back or suspended amid COVID-19 spikes. One officer from the local government, whom I met at Korea’s Best Festival Show at Busan from July 9 to 11, said that it is reluctant to title the events they hold including the term ‘festival’. “Because we see the confirmed cases spike these days, we get away from using the terms which can seem to attract gatherings of many citizens,” she explained.

A festival plays a role as a mechanism for strengthening communities through providing opportunities for shared, collective action and experiences. Boundaries between its genres have blurred these days, with festivals including conferences or B2B meetings; sports events incorporating cultural programs; and educational and business events made more festive. Community events are, particularly, used by local government and other stakeholders to revitalize rural communities, and these events become tourism products staged for commercial purposes, thus making substantial contributions to regional economies. They improve communication and develop networks across the community, attracting visitors including diverse and socially excluded groups into the area. Festival or event attendance builds social capital, which is the outcome of the inclusion of an individual in a range of networks, structures or groups, by promoting social cohesion and by giving an opportunity for public celebration.

Throughout the pandemic, however, businesses and governments are struggling to solve competing priorities simultaneously. The toughest one is how to keep an economy going while at the same time shutting it down to protect citizens from infection, since the dispersion of infectious diseases is mainly driven by the human movement. As the outbreak of pandemic swept across the world and social distancing policies were implemented in many countries, it is hampering the development of social capital. Many regional and rural economies in Korea are confronting serious economic decline. After the pandemic, small towns, which depended on income from its tourism or events industry, are suffering from considerable economic development challenges, including dwindling populations, limited employment opportunities, and a decline in the traditional agricultural sector.

Then, what events or festivals might look like during and after the pandemic? While we are still trying to grasp what is going on, with most of us currently in quarantine or lockdown, we are simultaneously attempting to understand what this may mean for the future of the events industry and society as a whole. The South Korean government is currently coping with two critical issues in terms of managing the tourism sector: leveraging the benefits of the digital transformation and implementing sustainable tourism policies.

Boryeong Mud Festival was held online last year

As technology continues to advance at a fast pace and is a game-changer for tourism or events businesses and policy makers alike, the rapid developments in social media contents, virtual and augmented reality applications,and artificial intelligence are likely to influence tourism products, business models, services, and visitor choices. Most Korean festivals are held in the form of ‘hybrid’ which means that the event is held simultaneously online and offline. People can easily access digital content and enjoy the festivals indirectly through a mobile environment. Director Dong-sok Choi from the domestic marketing team in Gangwon Tourism Organization, whom I met in the aforementioned, at Busan, also explained that the organization is focusing on digital transformation of tourism contents to revitalize the region’s tourism and events industry. Likewise, it is crucial time for the government to play an important role in creating the right conditions for all businesses to engage in the digital transformation of tourism. Furthermore, a sustainable policy for the industry is needed to ensure its resilience in the face of crises of such magnitude as the pandemic.

Festivals have become a part of the cultural fabric of global society. Tourism and events play a significant role in regional strategies that seek to encourage economic diversification and tap into potential localized economic opportunities. It is a grand challenge to forecast the future trajectories of the outbreak, simulate potential policy scenarios, and predict the consequences of reopening the economy. Although there are some of the limitations and concerns related to technology, such as threats to data security and identity, they are improving how events are planned, designed, and evaluated. Virtual events have also been fueled by the fact that people around the globe are better equipped with mobile devices.

These productive discussions are expected to spur to find the courage and creativity to take this crisis as an opportunity to dare and re-imagine post-corona events and festivals. More sophisticated solutions to plan for more inclusivity and accessibility – whether it’s an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event – are needed for better leap in a tourism and event industry.

Kayla Hong

Asia Journal

It has been well over a year since the pandemic began and saying that the world is exhausted is an understatement. Cities all over the world have been going into lockdown and the world was put on halt. With norms no longer being the norms, everyone was forced to adapt to a new lifestyle. So how has the pandemic affected the younger demographic, and how are they handling their pandemic fatigue?

Post secondary education has taken a drastic change during the pandemic. With online lectures being the solution to avoid large gatherings, the students have mixed opinions on this matter. There are those who believe that online learning is negatively impacting the educational quality. They claim that the restricted use of school facilities does not properly reflect on the tuition they pay. With the “partial” education they receive, they are left ill-prepared once graduated.

On the other hand, there are many who support online learning and believe that it will be an integral part of our educational system in the future. Their claim is that the benefits of online classes outweigh the drawbacks. Many see the pandemic as a push to the inevitable online-oriented society that was going to come with or without the pandemic. Of the coming changes, online schools – specifically post secondary schools – is one that will be greatly influenced. Further development in online culture is to be expected in the coming time.

Apart from education, the younger demographic have become restless from the pandemic. For young adults, their 20s are supposed to be a time for exploration and growth. It is a period where they step into the next chapter of their lives which bestows them with infinite possibilities, but the restrictions the pandemic brought discouraged many to move forward. Because of these restrictions and boundaries, many feel trapped and tied down physically and mentally. The excitement of graduating from the decades spent in a learning institution is crushed by the WFM (work from home) culture that was spawned by the lockdown.

While some are discouraged to move on, others took the pandemic as an opportunity. With the seemingly infinite amount of time people had during the lockdown, the restless young adults had to allocate their energy to new ambitions and hobbies. Small “at home businesses” began to pop up left and right. All sorts of creative businesses started popping up on social media such as basketball pottery, picnic catering, home food catering, and more. Whether it was done to pass the time, to make profit, or to be a non-profit, each business shined with youthful creativity that reflected their respective community. In Toronto, the BioBall made its appearance. The BioBall is a handmade sports planter that adds life to the home environment while raising money for a good cause, as all profits are donated to cancer patients.

While some were starting their “small businesses,” others were entering the world of stocks.  It seemed like every other person was learning about stocks and investments. We’ve seen a spike of increase in “stock advisors” found on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and reddit. We’ve heard countless stories of success and failure.

This lockdown has been inescapable as travel has been restricted as well. The phrase, “once COVID is over…,” has been getting louder and louder as people yearn to travel abroad. Whether it is to see family, to work, or just for leisure, young adults all over the world had to put their plans and ambitions on hold.

The past year and few months have been an interesting period of time. As we prepare for the end of the pandemic, the next chapter for these young adults will be even more exciting.

Asia Journal
Cory Yi