Japan retailers lure Chinese tourists with National Day posters

Source: Global Times, ECNS 

Japanese retailers are sparing no effort to attract Chinese tourists, who have massive purchasing power, ahead of China's weeklong National Day holidays beginning on October 1, with special sales and posters.

On Monday, pictures of retailers from different regions of Japan putting up posters with slogans such as "Joyfully Welcome China's National Day" in Chinese drew delight among Chinese netizens. Many large malls and duty-free shops have reportedly hired guides who can speak Chinese.

"They already started to celebrate National Day there? Very anxious," one netizen wrote on Sina Weibo on Monday. Some have already made plans to visit Japan during the holidays.

"Customers headed for Japan via our platform have increased about 15 percent year-on-year, for the periods of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the upcoming National Day holidays," Xu Xiaolei, a manager of marketing at China's CYTS Tours Holding Co, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to Xu, the growth rate is relatively high in terms of the contemporary overseas travel market. Japanese tourism-related industries have been rolling out measures to attract Chinese tourists, including ads, bilingual tour guides and other services, Xu noted.

As bilateral diplomatic relations warmed up in recent years, the number of Chinese tourists also soared. Also, this year, many Chinese tourists are avoiding a usually popular destination - Hong Kong - which has been engulfed in months of political unrest.

A Shenzhen-based resident surnamed Bai told the Global Times that she is planning to travel to Japan, "Hong Kong is no longer an option on my travel list, given its continuous riots," she said.

"The number of travelers heading to Hong Kong slumped more than one-third year-on-year," a travel agent said on condition of anonymity.

Tourism has been one of the major industries in Hong Kong, which is regarded as a world-class "shopping paradise" among tourists.

Visitor arrivals in Hong Kong dropped to 3.54 million in August from 5.9 million a year earlier, takungpao.com reported on Tuesday, citing data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB)

Visitor arrival from the Chinese mainland in July dropped 5.5 percent year-on-year, with the total number from all over the world decreasing 4.8 percent year-on-year, the HKTB said.

In July, retail sales Hong Kong slid 11.4 percent year-on-year, according to media reports.

Japan to gradually allow online visa applications for Chinese tourists

(ECNS) - Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said on Monday that Japan will offer an online application option for single-entry visas for Chinese group tourists starting July 30.

The minister said the move aims to simplify visa application procedures and improve the efficiency of visa services at Japanese embassies and consulates abroad.

The Japanese Embassy in Beijing will allow some approved travel agencies to use the online service first. As a general rule, the travel agencies should apply for a group tourist single-entry visa for Chinese travelers to the country for a stay of up to 15 days.

The Japanese consulate in Shanghai will offer the online service at a later date, which will then be available to all individual tourists to Japan.

From April 2020, all group and individual tourists to Japan will be able to benefit from the online visa application service, with the exception of the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong.

Source: Global Times, ECNS

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