Tweet of the Week #83: No, Japan Will Not Pay For Foreign Tourists to Visit

When the story of Japan’s Go to Travel subsidy initiative to revive tourism broke, would-be travelers worldwide jumped for joy at the idea of having their next trip to the Land of the Rising Sun paid for by the government.

Come on now, you should know that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. 

What is Go to Travel?

God knows Japan is counting on travelers to salvage its severely hit tourism industry. There were 99.9% fewer travelers in April 2020 than in 2019. As the country is slowly reverting back to normalcy, tourism authorities are making initial steps to restart the industry—starting with a subsidy program named Go to Travel. 

The program will only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses. Meaning only Japan residents would benefit from the program.

If approved by the government, the initiative would provide up to ¥20,000 vouchers and 20% discounts to help support local hotels, ryokans, and restaurants, provided travelers book their trips directly with the venue or through Japanese travel agencies.

Due to inaccurate reporting by some western media outlets, some people had the idea that the Go to Travel campaign would cover half their travel costs including airfare. A dream come true for money-savvy tourists!

Alas, the Japan Tourism Agency quickly dispelled the rumors on Twitter. The program, still in the planning stage, will only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses. Meaning only Japan residents would benefit from the program.

the Go to Travel Campaign under consideration by the Japanese government is to stimulate domestic travel demand within Japan after the Covid-19 pandemic and only cover a portion of domestic travel expenses.（２／２）

— 観光庁（Japan Tourism Agency） (@Kanko_Jpn) May 27, 2020

Fake news

As more and more websites and blogs enthusiastically shared news of the subsidy plan, Japanese people expressed their surprise at what now looks like “fake news” on Twitter. They mostly blamed the confusion on the English name of the campaign.

それは海外メディアに広まるフェイクニュースです
Go to Travel キャンペーンと横文字を使っているのでややこしいですが、日本在住者向けに国内旅費の半分まで補助して外国人が来ないため疲弊した観光地を応援するという施策

出所不明ですが日本のフェイク報道を海外メディアがコピーしてるのでしょう

— MickeyCat@fox アマビヱ様 疫病退散萬病平癒家内圓満商賣繁盛火之要鎮良縁成就極樂往生 (@ippaiyaruka) May 25, 2020

それは海外（かいがい）メディアに広（ひろ）まるフェイクニュースです

Go to Travel キャンペーンと横文字（よこもじ）を使（つか）っているのでややこしいですが、日本（にほん）在住者（ざいじゅうしゃ）向（む）けに国内旅費（こくないりょひ）の半分（はんぶん）まで補助して外国人（がいこくじん）が来（こ）ないため疲弊（ひへい）した観光地（かんこうち）を応援（おうえん）するという施策（しさく）

出所不明（しゅっしょふめい）ですが日本のフェイク報道（ほうどう）を海外メディアがコピーしてるのでしょう

=

“This is fake news spreading among foreign media.

It’s confusing because they’ve named it ‘Go to Travel’ and write it using western characters. But the measure is trying to support tourist spots that are suffering because foreign travelers aren’t coming by covering up to half of Japan residents’ domestic travel expenses.

The source is unknown, but it seems that overseas media are copying fake news from Japan.”

これネーミングの問題な感じがしますね……。

もしこれが「COVID-19ふっこう割」だったら、外国人はタイトルの意味がわからないので誤解しなかった可能性が……。

「STAY HOME」とか「Go To Travel」とか無駄に英語のタイトル付けると、海外向けキャンペーンだと誤解するんじゃないだろうかという。 https://t.co/8qwGPLwFbR

— あしやまひろこ (@hiroko_TB) May 27, 2020

これネーミングの問題（もんだい）な感（かん）じがしますね……。

もしこれが「COVID-19ふっこう割（わり）」だったら、外国人はタイトルの意味（いみ）がわからないので誤解（ごかい）しなかった可能性（かのうせい）が……。

「STAY HOME」とか「Go To Travel」とか無駄（むだ）に英語（えいご）のタイトル付けると、海外向（かいがいむ）けキャンペーンだと誤解するんじゃないだろうかという。

=

“I feel like the name is the issue here… If the name was ‘COVID-19 reconstruction support,’ foreigners would probably not get confused about the meaning.

I wonder if trivial English names such as ‘STAY HOME’ and ‘Go to Travel’ created the misunderstanding that the campaign is directed at travelers from overseas.”

We’d guess that “Go to Travel” is just a new chapter in a long line of miscommunication from the Japanese government.

While it’s not totally safe just yet to explore all the wonders Japan has to offer, we can still plan a future trip to uplift our spirits until we can finally board a plane again. For those outside Japan, just be prepared to pay full price.

Learn the Japanese expression 向け

向け is the short-form of the word 向ける which means “to direct (your attention towards…)” or “to point (at)” and is used as a suffix with nouns to express that something is intended for, suitable for, or oriented towards someone or something.

日本在住者向けに = for residents of Japan

海外向けキャンペーン = a campaign oriented towards foreigners

Be sure not to confused 向け with 向き, another suffix that works with nouns. The word 向き comes from the verb 向く, which means “to face” (e.g., a direction). While both convey the idea of something “being suitable for,” 向け carries the notion of objective or intent.

The Go to Travel campaign is intended for domestic travelers. On the other hand, 向き doesn’t imply a specific intention but rather express suitability, such as in “a book suitable for children” or 子供（こども）向きの本（ほん） in Japanese.

Vocabulary

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