BEIJING Kyodo resumed overseas group tours for Chinese citizens after a roughly 3 year hiatus due to the coronaviruses, but the tours will only be limited to 20 countries, with Japan excluded from the list.
Japan's tourism and retail industry had hoped for the resumption of group tours from China, as they comprised a major portion of inbound travelers before the Pandemic, but the prospect of their return remains uncertain.
Beijing opposes Tokyo's decision to strengthen border controls for travelers inbound from China after a surge in coronavirus cases in the country.
The 20 countries approved for the resumption of the service by Beijing are Thailand, one of the most popular destinations in China, Indonesia, the Maldives, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland.
Yasufumi Yamada, head of the Shanghai office of the Japan National Tourism Organization, expressed disappointment that Japan was not included in the list of overseas destinations for group tours.
Yamada said that they hope to welcome visitors from China soon, and that efforts will be made to promote information about rural areas in Japan.
The Shanghai office held an event Saturday in Beijing promoting traditional towns and sites in Nagano, Ishikawa and Okayama prefectures.
Xu Yongli, a Beijing resident who participated in the event, urged Japan to relax its border controls and expressed his hope to visit Naraijuku, a historic town that was a major route during the Edo Era 1603 -- 1868 in Nagano Prefecture.
Japan had a record-high of 31.88 million foreign visitors in 2019, with visitors from China comprising around 30 percent, according to the tourism organization.
During the year, Chinese travelers spent 1.77 trillion yen $13.4 billion, making up 36.8 percent of the total expenditure of all inbound travelers.
Due to the coronaviruses restrictions that came into force in 2020, the number of Chinese travelers fell sharply. Despite Japan loosing its border controls in October last year, travelers inbound from China remain at around 20,000 to 30,000 a month.
China reopened its borders on Jan. 8, and abandoned quarantine measures, which was a full departure from its strict zero-COVID policy even though it saw widespread infections.
In response, several countries, including Japan and South Korea, have strengthened their border controls for travelers inbound from China.
Japan requires visitors from mainland China to show proof of a negative COVID 19 test taken within 72 hours of departure.
All people from mainland China, including those who have visited the country within seven days, are required to take a PCR or high-sensitivity antigen test upon arrival in Japan. Those who test positive must be quarantined at a designated facility for up to seven days.