Japan's tourism agency reassures Vietnamese tourists after the earthquake.

On January 4th, Mr. Yoshida Kenji, head of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) representative office in Vietnam, spoke about the earthquake disaster that occurred in Japan in the early days of the new year and expressed regret that the events had caused anxiety among tourists about traveling to Japan.

Speaking about the current situation in Japan, Mr. Yoshida Kenji said that in affected areas, some public events and activities are temporarily suspended, but nationwide, sporting and musical events are still being held as planned.

"In Japan, there have been no announcements regarding quarantine, travel restrictions, or the suspension of activities and events. Even in affected areas, public transportation has already resumed normal operation," a representative of JNTO in Vietnam stated.

From a safety standpoint, the country's meteorological and hydrological bureau has warned of the possibility of earthquakes of similar magnitude occurring within the next week, so continued monitoring is necessary.

JNTO Vietnam also stated that they will continue to gather information from Japan through various sources, especially from JNTO headquarters in Tokyo, and update this information for tourists and people in Vietnam.

Regarding the aviation incident that occurred at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) on January 2nd, the Japan National Transportation Safety Board (JNTO) stated that the National Transportation Safety Board, the Police Department, and experts are currently investigating the cause of the incident and will proactively provide the most accurate information.

No tourists have postponed or canceled their tours to Japan.

Meanwhile, several Vietnamese travel companies report that many Vietnamese tour groups are currently traveling to destinations in Japan and are all safe.

A representative from Vietravel stated that during the first two days of the new year, when the earthquakes occurred, the company had 500 tourists visiting various cities in Japan. Of these, approximately 20 were in the Shirakawago ancient village area in Gifu Prefecture – about 350km from Tokyo.

Most tourist groups had itineraries visiting major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Mount Fuji, Matsuyama, and Nagoya, all located in southeastern Japan, so they were not significantly affected or only experienced mild aftershocks from the earthquakes.

The airline assures tourists that they are still safe and that tour itineraries have not been significantly altered by the natural disaster. As of now, many Vietravel tour groups have completed their programs and returned to Vietnam.

"We have worked with our partners in Japan to promptly develop response scenarios and prepare ourselves to calmly serve our customers on tours in the best possible way. The airline is ready to assist tourists who purchased tours to Japan by rescheduling their trips to a more suitable time or by allowing them to switch to tours in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia," a representative from Vietravel stated.

Similarly, businesses specializing in tours to Japan during the Lunar New Year and cherry blossom viewing tours in 2024, such as Saigontourist, Benthanh Tourist, and Vietluxtour, also reported that they have not received any cases of tour groups wanting to cancel or postpone their tours.

According to Ms. Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing director of Saigontourist Travel, tours to Japan are still being offered and customers are still booking tours ahead of the Lunar New Year. Travel companies will cease operating tours when there are warnings from Japanese authorities about natural disasters.

Currently, Vietnamese businesses are closely monitoring the local situation through official updates from Japan, so tours to Japan are still being sold and departing as planned.

According to tour operators, most of the popular tours among Vietnamese people are not located near the areas affected by the recent earthquakes.

Recently, JNTO announced that the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan in the first 11 months of 2023 surpassed the record set in 2019.

Accordingly, the number of visitors to Japan from Vietnam during the period from January to November 2023 reached 536,800 people, surpassing the record of 495,051 people achieved in 2019 and setting the highest record ever.