COVID-19 pandemic impact on Japanese travel and tourism industry and new challenges in the “with COVID-19” and “after COVID-19” era

Abstract

This chapter presents a commentary on the new challenges being faced by the Japanese travel and tourism industry forced to a paradigm shift because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of foreign tourists to Japan has fallen to virtually zero. As there is no expectation of any regional revitalization in foreign tourism in the near future, domestic travel demand and the associated consumption need to be stimulated. Some companies have launched “online experience program” systems, other companies have been developing micro tourism experiences with unique themes, one small historical city is developing programs to harness the power of its local tourism resources and attractions, and a traditional hotel and restaurant, which is also a recognized cultural property, is offering special discount campaigns to its local citizens. Although the situation is expected to remain tough in the immediate future, people in the travel and tourism industry have been working hard to discover new values in tourism, foster civic pride in the local people, and develop new business models. This chapter also describes the technologies and government support systems that enable these new challenges.