Biz travelers leading Japan tourism back to normal
After the nuclear disaster of a year ago, business travelers are leading the resurgence of travelers back into Japan, says Malcolm Thompson, general manager of the Peninsula Tokyo.
"Rates are down 10,000 yen [$121], most [hotels] are surviving from corporate business based on volume," Thompson told the Huffington Post.
A report by the World Travel and Tourism Council predicts that travel to the country will return to pre-Fukushima levels by the end of 2012.
WTTC head David Scowsill said that "Japan's travel and tourism recovery has been much better than anyone could have anticipated 12 months ago."
Japan lost 62% of its international travelers last year.
But it remains popular not only to US travelers but to Europeans and growing numbers of Chinese tourists.
Though the recovery hasn't been even — Americans seemed more eager to return than the Germans or French — it seems on the verge of being complete according to Shuichi Kameyama of the Japan Tourism Agency.
"We are forecasting a record high," said Kameyama.
Kameyama says that the message his agency is looking to send to the traveling public is simple: "Everything is normal."
By David Wilkening
David
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