Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Hiroyuki Takahashi, the Chairperson of the Tourism EXPO Japan Executive Committee, says he is looking for the Japanese government to speed up the country’s recovery from COVID-19 and create a situation where travel is made easy in a post-COVID world.

“At the moment, a number of countries around the world are trying to implement health passports and the Japanese government should speed up the implementation of health passports in Japan, too, so that the country is not left behind when the conditions become favorable for international travel,” he told the newsletter of the Japan Association of Travel Agents.“Although it took some time, the government is now invested in speeding up the process. With the acceleration of the vaccination rollout, we can start preparing for the restart of travel.”

Tourism EXPO Japan is scheduled to be held in Osaka at the end of November, but uncertainty remains due to a severe COVID spike and the ongoing state of emergency in Japan’s second city, Tokyo and other areas.

“While we continue to go through a challenging period, Tourism EXPO Japan, one of the world’s most comprehensive travel trade shows, is destined to play a special role for the restart of international travel and tourism,” Takahashi said. “At this point in time, it is difficult to say exactly how we will execute the event.  It will depend on several factors: the decrease in the number of infections, a smooth vaccination rollout and the re-opening of domestic travel.  If these factors are all present, Tourism EXPO Japan will provide the lead to the re-start of international travel exchange in person.”

While hoping for the best, Takahashi is preparing for the worst.“Of course, we have to make preparations assuming every possible situation, but if the Olympics and Paralympics are conducted safely as scheduled and we are able to call them a success, Tourism EXPO Japan is expected to have a huge positive impact on the restart of international travel exchange.” He conceded that the EXPO may need to be conducted, at least in part, online.