Japan Lifts Foreign Inbound Covid Travel Restrictions in October
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Loading... - Bojing Liu
- 24 Oct 2022
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The country of Japan is significantly loosening Covid-19 border restrictions that are expected to drive increased inbound travel demand, says global property consultant CBRE.
Starting on October 11th, 2022, border restrictions that limit 50,000 overseas entrants per day were abolished. In conjunction with the long-term weakening of the yen, expectations are high that the lifting of these restrictions will serve as a catalyst to reinvigorate inbound tourist demand.
A comparison of the entry limits and the actual numbers of foreign nationals entering Japan, however, reveals that as of August, the number of entrants still lagged far below the maximum allowed levels. For this reason, some market observers remain skeptical that the abolition of these limits will be effective.
The most significant aspect of the latest round of border measure changes is permitting the entry of Foreign Individual Travelers (FITs). In 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic, FITs comprised 76.6% of all foreign visitors to Japan. This means that until October 11th, Japan's borders have only been open to just over 20% of all potential foreign tourists. When viewed in this context, the fact that visitor numbers are well below the daily limit is no surprise. Read More...
