I did my part for two weeks before the quake and won't be getting back until September. But more power to anyone who can still afford their Japanese vacation. A very big reason, in the US at least, IS American air carriers responding to low demand by drastically cutting capacity and increasing rates faster and faster. It could well be a worldwide tourism induced suicide phenomenon..
How can there still be panic hype from the media ? There hasn't been ANY news on the situation in days.You can blame the medias need for hype and viewership/readership for the drop in tourism. As Glenski said, people have nary a clue as to the geography of Japan. One can still visit, Tokyo, Western Japan, Hokkaido, etc. If you listen to US news (although there is not much these days) all of Japan is radiated and store shelves are bare. A recent news article stated that all imports from Japan, including cars, are being tested for radiation contamination!
How can there still be panic hype from the media ? There hasn't been ANY news on the situation in days.
If foreigners don't travel, it is called fear mongering and over-reacting; if the shoe is on the other foot and Japanese hunker down for a period of mourning, it's called voluntary self restraint. Got to love the double standards.
No doubt the Japanese economy is in a severe situation and they need to take the lead in restoring it. What is clearly having a negative effect on tourism and travel in the US is jet fuel prices going up above certain levels and the fuel surcharge becomes another added cost. Spiking gas prices only happened to more or less coincide with the earthquake.In days? And you think a few days or even weeks can make up for the panic the media caused? I don't. I think it will take years. Days? Come on.
Double standards? You're trying to compare mourning with tourism?
It's not a very hard point to follow Liz, the media's reporting has helped hurt tourism in Japan. If you think the media was spot on in it's reporting and responsible that's your perogative, people in Japan have a different opinion for the most part.
No doubt the Japanese economy is in a severe situation and they need to take the lead in restoring it
What is clearly having a negative effect on tourism and travel in the US is jet fuel prices going up above certain levels and the fuel surcharge becomes another added cost.
Spiking gas prices only happened to more or less coincide with the earthquake.
Try convincing the airlines they aren't harmed by rising oil prices. Jet fuel prices are up 50% in the past year and tickets around 20%. How much of a survey do you need ? I'm certainly holding off on buying another ticket.You might be able to find a person who cancelled their trip to Japan based on gas prices, and pigs might fly one day. Knicks might win a championships. In other words, get real.
It is true that in the short term Korea and Japan have been scared off by the radiation even more than the Westerners. It is also the case that pricing pressures are going to determine whether airlines return to full capacity/normal pricing to the country by the latter half of this year. Fuel costs have risen, travel to Japan has been reduced, tourism from Japan to other countries has dropped...No reason for anyone to change their immediate plans but no real incentive to make new ones either.And that would be a problem if you or people like you were a significant portion of the tourism trade here, but you aren't. If you lived in Japan you would know that. Koreans cancelled schools because of "radioactive rain," they could care less about 20% increase in ticket price.
Where do you get your news, Elizabeth? I see earthquake/radiation/tsunami related news in the Daily Yomiuri and The Japan Times and on TV every day.How can there still be panic hype from the media ? There hasn't been ANY news on the situation in days.