Photo/Illutration Tourists return to Nara Park in Nara in October after curbs on movement were lifted and the central government’s travel subsidy program became available. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The government plans to continue its taxpayer-funded subsidy program to promote domestic travel in April and beyond, despite indications that the tourism industry has already rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program is expected to wrap up as soon as the subsidies allotted to each prefectural government have been used up. But the discounts will likely be available until summer in many prefectures, according to officials with the Japan Tourism Agency.

The subsidies cannot be used for trips during the Golden Week holidays between late April and early May. Tours already booked for April and beyond are also ineligible for the subsidies.

But travelers who reserve trips after the announcement of the subsidy program by each prefectural government can receive discounts.

Up to 20 percent of a trip’s cost will be subsidized, the same as the current setup.

The discount is capped at 5,000 yen ($36) a night per person for tours that include transportation and accommodation. For day trips or accommodations only, the discount is a maximum 3,000 yen per person.

Travelers can also receive regional coupons worth a total of 2,000 yen for use on weekdays at restaurants and shops where they are visiting.

The coupon amount is 1,000 yen for trips on weekends and holidays.

The Japan Tourism Agency revealed its plan to extend the subsidy program beyond the current fiscal year at a March 8 meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Research Commission for the Establishment of a Tourism Oriented Nation.

The Japan Association of Travel Agents, an industry group, had pressed for an extension of the program.

“The tourism industry has yet to be firmly back on a self-sustained recovery path,” Hiroyuki Takahashi, chairman of the association, said at a news conference in January. “We are calling on the central government to continue with the support program until April and beyond.”

While many LDP lawmakers at the March 8 meeting hailed the agency’s plan, even some agency officials expressed doubts on whether the support program was still needed.

The number of domestic tours during the October-December period in 2022 topped the figure for the same period in 2019, before the novel coronavirus pandemic struck, according to the agency.

High demand during the last quarter of 2022 can be attributed to the government’s eased restrictions on movement, as well as the availability of the travel subsidy program during those months.

Although the travel campaign is funded with public money, many people say they cannot use it.

According to a December survey conducted by NLI Research Institute on lifestyle changes during the pandemic, only 20 percent of respondents said they have used the travel subsidies.

And more than 60 percent said they have not or do not plan to use the program. Of them, 30 percent said they could not financially afford to travel.

The survey showed that people with sufficient time and money are eager to take advantage of the travel subsidies. They include families with preschool or adult children, as well as households with annual incomes of 6 million yen or more.

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