Sunday, September 15, 2024
Japan is exploring a brand new initiative to supply free passports to 18-year-olds as a part of its technique to encourage worldwide journey amongst younger individuals. This proposal, introduced by Hiroyuki Takahashi, chairman of the Japan Affiliation of Journey Brokers, goals to handle the declining variety of younger Japanese vacationers.
As of 2023, solely about 17 p.c of Japanese residents possessed a passport, which Takahashi argues limits journey alternatives for youth. The Japan Nationwide Tourism Group reported a big drop in worldwide journey, with solely 6.85 million Japanese nationals touring overseas between January and July 2024. This determine represents a 38.9 p.c decline in comparison with the identical interval in 2019, previous to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lower is attributed to a weak yen and growing journey bills.
Takahashi’s proposal contains offering a five-year passport freed from cost to new adults to spice up their curiosity in abroad journey. Moreover, he recommended issuing passports to college students upon their completion of junior highschool to encourage extra excessive colleges to prepare worldwide journeys. This transfer might doubtlessly improve Japan’s world connectivity and broaden journey experiences for younger individuals.
These developments and proposals will probably be highlighted at a tourism expo from September 26 to 29 at a significant conference heart in Tokyo, organized by the Japan Affiliation of Journey Brokers together with different trade companions. The expo will function a platform to debate methods for reinforcing worldwide journey and tourism in Japan.
