Quakes Threaten Kyushu Tourism

Above, the Nagasaki Peace Statue. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The recent major earthquakes and aftershocks are threatening the Kyushu tourism industry.

According to the Thomas Reuters Foundation News:

TOKYO, April 18 (Reuters) - A series of deadly earthquakes on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu is threatening to quash a nascent tourism boom, frightening away thousands of Chinese and other foreign visitors drawn to its hot springs and lush mountain landscapes. 

The island is targeting a 75 percent increase in its 2 trillion yen ($20 billion) tourism industry over the next seven years, said Makoto Takahashi, executive director at Kyushu Tourism Promotion Organization. 

But China's foreign ministry has urged caution about travel to Kyushu in the near term and to avoid Kumamoto after the Kumamoto and Oita prefectures were hit at the weekend by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake and dozens of aftershocks.

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