Interest
Japan to Offer Free Airfare to 10,000 Foreigners
posted on by Egan Loo
The Japan Tourism Agency of the Japanese government is aiming to restore foreign tourism in the wake of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster by offering free airfare to 10,000 overseas tourists next year. The agency will mainly accept applications online, and if an applicant's travel plans meet the program's criteria, the agency will sponsor the applicant's round-trip airfare to Japan.
The purpose of the program is to have participants spread the word of their travels online and, by extension, the safety of visiting Japan now. The agency is allocating 1.1 billion yen (about US$14 million) from its requested 2012 budget for the program.
Blogger and television host Danny Choo is informally asking his readers to describe their travel plans via a questionnaire and short responses.
Source: Yomiuri via Danny Choo
