TOKYO, Dec 15 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese government will suspend its subsidised “Go To Travel” campaign, instituted to help promote domestic tourism nationwide, during the end of year and New Year holidays, as the country is contending with a surge in cases, Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, said yesterday.
The nationwide, state-backed travel campaign, which has already seen Osaka City in western Japan and Sapporo City in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture, excluded, due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, will be halted from Dec 28 to Jan 11, Suga said.
Suga also said, prior to the nationwide suspension coming into effect, subsidies for travel to Tokyo and Nagoya would be halted until Dec 27, owing to rises in infections and concerns about medical facilities becoming overburdened.
The sudden decision to halt the nationwide campaign, rather than exclude specific cities as had widely been expected earlier, came on the heels of the government’s subcommittee on anti-virus measures on Friday.
The “Go To Travel” campaign, which can save domestic travellers around 50 percent of their costs, owing to the government’s subsidies, was launched in July to help the pandemic-battered tourism industry.– NNN-NHK
