Above, Ginza Crossing in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.The news of Japan's cancelling of the 10000 free flights plan was a disappointment to many. But it really wasn't that big of a surprise. There's an old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."
If Japan is really serious about boosting tourism, something has to be done about the rise of the yen versus other currencies. This is causing a chilling effect on tourism to Japan.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote today:
The Japanese currency traded at 77.86 per dollar and 101.78 versus the euro as of 11:38 a.m. New York time. For the year, the yen advanced 4.2 percent against the greenback and 6.7 percent against the 17-nation currency.
This is causing travel to Japan to be more expensive as travelers' currencies aren't buying as much yen (in exchange) than they previously did. In 2007, I got 116 yen per dollar exchanged.
Besides causing tourism to slump, the over-valued yen is hurting Japanese businesses who rely on exporting goods overseas. Toyota and other exporters are talking about big lay-offs due to the over-valued yen as it makes their products more expensive.
Things won't change until the Japanese government gets the yen under control. If people can get a better rate of exchange, they will come.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/27/bloomberg_articlesLWVFQ10YHQ0X.DTL#ixzz1hnmkxxOa
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