Japan Times: "Foreign Tourists Still Staying Away"

Above, one of Matsushima Bay's islets.  Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

The news of the rebound in foreign visitors to Japan in recent months painted a misleading picture of the state of tourism to Japan.

The situation in the northeast region of Honshu (Japan's main island) is not so rosy.

The Japan Times posted an article on the state of tourism in the region.

They wrote:

SENDAI — While tourism in most parts of Japan is recovering from the slump due to the March 2011 disasters, destinations in the northeast are still struggling to woo back foreign travelers. 

In many of the areas hit hardest by the quake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, domestic visitor counts have rebounded, but this has been mostly due to reconstruction-related travel. 

A recovery in the number of overseas travelers is still nowhere in sight, as reputations remain hurt by radiation fears. 

Take for example the town of Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, which boasts one of the three most famous scenic views in Japan and has been popular with Asian tourists. 

"Before the disaster, our town bustled with South Koreans and other (foreign tourists). But this summer there are so few," said Yu Ota, head of the town's commerce and tourism section. 

He blamed the drop in overseas visitors on the bad image created by the fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. 

Matsushima suffered relatively little damage from last year's tsunami. It is believed the hundreds of famous islets that dot the coastline acted as buffers against the massive waves. About half of its accommodation facilities managed to reopen within two months after the quake. 

Eighteen months on, with most of its hotels now back in business and railway services to the town running on schedule — making it accessible from Sendai in just 30 minutes or so by express — Matsushima is up and ready to welcome visitors.

I visited Matsushima in 2006, it is one of the most picturesque places in Japan.  It is often compared to Carmel, California in beauty.  It is a shame that although Matsushima is perfectly capable to handle tourists as they did before the earthquake, there are so few foreign visitors showing up.

Matsushima is attracting almost as many domestic visitors as it did before the earthquake, the drop in foreign tourists is causing major concern.

Occupancy rates at hotels and inns have rebounded thanks to the inflow of construction workers involved in reconstruction and others visiting on business. 

However, the town has yet to regain its popularity among foreign visitors. With Chinese and South Korean tourists being the main driving force for demand, many in the local tourism industry are worried about prospects down the road.

The Fukushima Nuclear Power plant is miles away from Matsushima, so there is no reason to fear any radiation contamination in Matsushima.

The foreign tourism numbers for 2012 are 49,020, just 42.4 percent of the level in 2010.  If the numbers of foreign tourists doesn't improve, it may mean that many tourist-oriented businesses will have to go out of business.

To read the full article, go here.