Under the slowdown of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Japan will allow tourists to enter through unguided tour groups from next Wednesday (7th). The Tourism Agency issued new revised guidelines on Friday (2nd), including the need for travel agencies to keep in touch with tourists visiting Japan. Japanese media said on Saturday (3rd) that tourists can freely arrange sightseeing and dining itineraries.
The new guidelines stipulate that when travel agencies sell travel package products to tourists, they must explain epidemic prevention measures such as wearing masks and avoiding the three secrets (closed, dense, and close contact), and obtain the consent of the other party. Travel agencies must also ensure that they can contact tourists on their mobile phones at any time, and start physical contact following the other party enters the country. In addition, the new guidelines also state that travel agencies need to urge tourists to purchase overseas travel insurance that covers medical expenses, introduce medical institutions when tourists have symptoms such as fever, and assist them to seek medical treatment.
Xuan Guoquan, executive director of Eastern Travel, said that under the new guidelines, travel agencies will play the role of intermediaries or responsible persons. In addition to acting as visa agents and applying for certificates for visitors to Japan, they must also ensure that tourists have a way to contact them following arriving in Japan. If a traveler is unfortunate enough to contract the virus locally, travel agencies need to provide support, including finding medical facilities or isolating hotels on their behalf; while travelers are required to wear masks during their stay in Japan, the Japanese authorities will not require travelers to wear wristbands for tracking purposes, but travelers should follow The declared itinerary activity. Xuan Guoquan also pointed out that following the new guidelines were issued, hundreds of people called to inquire this morning, and it took at least 8 days to apply for a visa, and those interested in visiting Japan might set off in the middle or late of this month at the earliest.
