Tours to Japan are less popular, and prices are increasing.

Following the announcement of opening its doors to Vietnamese tourists from September 7th, Japan has become an attractive destination, but it comes with quite a few conditions.

To Quyen (34 years old, from Phu Tho province), after nearly three years of waiting, immediately searched for tours to Japan in October. However, after receiving advice and learning about the requirements for going to Japan, she realized her dream was still far away, mainly due to visa procedures as she was still missing quite a few documents and the chances of getting a visa were not high.

Nguyen Lan (27 years old, Hanoi) faced no visa difficulties but had limited funds. She planned to travel independently and stay with a friend working in Japan to save on hotel costs. However, according to regulations after Japan reopened, Vietnamese visitors could only travel to Japan on organized tours or had to book all services such as flights and hotels through a travel agency. Spending over 30 million VND on a tour was beyond her means, so she decided to wait.

"The difficulty for tours to Japan at this time is related to pandemic prevention regulations. In addition, the Japanese government is currently limiting entry to only 50,000 visitors per day, so the number of rejected applications may be high," said Ms. Doan Thanh Tra, Director of Marketing and Communications, Saigontourist Travel Service Company.

Some other companies now also only accept customers with specific preferences to facilitate the application process. "To avoid wasting time for all parties, travel companies currently only accept applications with strong profiles and international travel history. Individual travelers with blank passports almost certainly lose the opportunity to visit Japan," said Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Deputy Director of Vietfoot Travel.

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, Japan was already quite strict in its visa application process for tourists. Furthermore, a large volume of Japanese visa applications is expected from October onwards. The application review process during this period also takes more time. The embassy has not yet announced the expected processing time, unlike previous appointments. This has left travel companies and tourists quite unprepared. Therefore, to ensure timely departures for their clients, many companies have postponed tours from late September and October to November.

According to surveys at several travel companies in Vietnam, tours to Japan began being offered for sale from mid-September. This is a new destination for the autumn season, and also the newest international tour on the market taking tourists abroad this year.

The number of customers interested in tours to Japan is also large. According to a representative from Vietravel, since opening, the company has received nearly 1,000 inquiries and bookings for tours to Japan, with a trend of booking in groups of 4 to 6 people, mostly families or friends.

The most popular tour package currently is Japan during the autumn foliage season, priced between 28 and 37 million VND per person, depending on the itinerary and airline. This price has increased by 10 to 20% compared to before the pandemic. Additional costs include processing fees, airfare, etc. If traveling in a group, the price may be even higher due to difficulties in booking tickets on a first-come, first-served basis for travel companies.

"The increase in tour prices is understandable because current costs are no longer at pre-pandemic levels. However, tourists can still find good deals on tours if they look for promotional programs or if they qualify for FAM trips, where the cost may be only one-third of the regular tour price," a representative from Vietfoot Travel stated.

After Japan reopened, Vietnamese tourists could only travel to Japan through organized tours, or if traveling independently, they still had to book all services such as flights and hotels through a travel agency. This became a barrier for those who wanted to travel but stayed with relatives or friends in Japan to save costs.

However, representatives from many travel companies say they believe that Japan will gradually ease regulations between now and the end of the year, similar to many European countries that initially faced restrictions upon reopening but became more compliant once regulations stabilized. It is expected that in the last two months of the year, tourists will have more new tour options, such as multi-country tours and cruise tours to Japan.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao