Megan Singleton: BloggerAtLarge.com writer on Japan's new changes for tourism

Japan is making significant changes to its tourism landscape, with new measures taking effect by late 2026.

Japan will end tax-free shopping benefits for foreign visitors, estabish dual pricing and establish visitor caps at popular tourist spots.

BloggerAtLarge's Megan Singleton explains further - and reveals whether these will make a dent in Japan's tourism figures.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks. I'd be Megan.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Singleton joins us now to talk travel. You can find
her a blogger at large dot com. Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Now we've been hearing a few.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Changes about Japan is sort of rethinking their tourism industry
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
Yes, well, it's absolutely heaving under the weight of international
tourists and their wheely bags. No doubt was in through
Tokyo solike a lot of the other cities around the
world and countries around the world that are having to
bring in measures, Japan has joined that. I think it's
on the bucket lists of just so many people. I
don't know if every does, everyone you know talking about

(00:45):
going to Japan, because certainly in.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
My if I know in New Zealand and Australia, and
one of the main reasons is is because the dollars
is quite good compared to if you go to Europe
or if you're going to the States. So that's exactly
if all I've spoken to has said that's the attraction
for them.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
The other thing too, is that they have had up
until the end of next year, they're going to end
this tax free shopping where you get your discounts directly
at point of sale, and so it was a great
location for shopping sprees and people would travel from all
over for this. So they're bringing an end to that,
but it will mean you can still claim your tax,

(01:23):
but a bit like we have to do in other countries.
You just have to keep your receipts and you take
it to the airport and you line up and you
put in for your little tax rebate, which of course
none of us actually do because none of us have
probably spent thousands of dollars on something precious. But anyway,
so that's actually going to save the country a lot
of money. And this all is to go back into infrastructure.

(01:44):
We get that they're also going to bring in dual
pricing in popular tourist spots like museums and temples, maybe
ski resorts, amusement parks, a price for locals, one price
for tourists. They were doing this in some places, but
they're going to standardize that and actually we do that
here in New Zealand. If you have been up to
White Tonguey lately, there's a price for kiwis to pay,

(02:07):
and there's a different price for tourists to pay. Auckland
War Memorial Museum is another one I can think of
just off the top of my head. Auckland ratepayers can
go in there for nothing.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
You want to take your letter?

Speaker 3 (02:19):
Yeah, yes's bill Yeah, and then find out it's in
your PO box and you can't use it now. So
the USA has an ESTER. Japan is bringing in the JESTER,
so the Japan Electronics System for Travel Authorization, but will
come in, but that won't roll out until twenty twenty eight.

(02:40):
That's going to be an online pre approval visa to
visit Japan. I'm not sure what the cost of that
is yet, but that's obviously still three years away, and
we've introduced that in New Zealand. Two, don't forget. We
just put our levy up to one hundred and something
dollars for the mz ETA. And then the last thing
they're going to do at the moment is putting visitor
caps on places like hiking Mount Fuji. In fact, that

(03:02):
came in last year. They've limited that to four thousand
high a day and the early charge them fourteen US
dollars per person. So much of Pechu has the same.
A lot of countries are having to do that sort
of thing. I don't think it's going to, you know,
deter people from going to Japan. You know, it's still
on our bucket lists for its food and its scenery

(03:24):
and it's shopping and its people and its culture. And
I'm actually going to be taking a tour the next year,
which is already sold out. But next November. I can't
wait to see the fall leaves because blossom time is
apparently manak. I would like to go for blossoms, but
I'm going to go for autumn instead.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Yeah, but you know we're having this discussion here in
New Zealand as well. I've just done a quick Google
Google and climbing Mount fuji Is costs you only twenty
six UIs dollars per person.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
All right, that's great.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
That's not a huge amount. I mean we were not
of looking at doing this here in New Zealand that
we were some of our really popular tree spots in
our view of our walks and things like that. That's
not at that huge amount. That's just what they what
they've put in place.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Now.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
I mean I'd go do that to walk some pay
that to walk some beautiful tracks around there and things.
That's that's not going to stop me. It's going to
be interesting, isn't it. I think we're all kind of
trying to get that balance right of putting the fees on,
that putting fees on that we can make a bit
of extra money in order to support our tourism businesses,

(04:34):
but not scare people away. I think there's a balances
in there. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Interesting.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Thank you so much, Megan. You can read more at
blocker at large dot com.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudgin, listen
live to news talks there'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio