Above, Godzilla statue awaits visitors at the main entrance to Toho Studios in the Setagaya Ward of Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.The United Kingdom's Holiday Hypermarket travel website has posted that Japan is "safe for visitors again."
In their post, they cite a statement from The Pacific Asia Travel Association:
Tourism officials for Pacific Asia have issued a statement reassuring potential visitors to the country that Japan is now perfectly safe to visit, with the country returning to normal life except for the immediate area surrounding the damaged Fukushima power plant. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said that "almost all" of Japan is now functioning as normal, and visitors should not be put off booking Japan holidays.
As I have mentioned several times, the area affected by the quake, tsunami and radiation is confined to small sections of the country. As Japan is roughly the size of California, people shouldn't fear a vacation to, say, Kyoto when the affected areas are quite a distance away (this amounts to cancelling a vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim when the disaster happened in San Francisco).
Tourism amounted to 7% of Japan's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) before the earthquake.
To read the full story, go here.
Left, the Kinkaku-ji Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. Photo by Armand Vaquer.
1 comment:
Armand, I have a friend who is currently visiting Japan so this is great news! I am always struck by the simplicity and beauty of their surroundings. It's a perfect balance between buildings and nature.
CM
Post a Comment