Japan’s ‘Go To Travel’ campaign to be suspended
Japan is halting the subsidised Go To Travel program over the New Year period.
In an abrupt move to contain surging Covid infection rates, the domestic travel campaign will be suspended nationwide from 28 December to 11 January.
It comes after calls to scale back the program as Tokyo’s weekly rolling average of new Covid infecions surpassed 500 for the first time..
The travel program began in the summer as a means to stimulate domestic travel and aid the tourism industry.
However, the scheme has been blamed for helping to spread the virus across the country.
A subcommittee on Covid containment measures last week called for a halt of the Go To travel campaign in prefectures with rising cases to help reduce the movement of people.
The Tokyo government has ordered restaurants and bars to reduce hours of operation for the next few days.
"All steps need to be taken to protect lives and stop the virus from spreading further," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said.
With Tokyo at the heart of the latest wave of infections, the capital city will be removed as an inbound destination for the Go To Travel campaign starting later this week.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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