Japan Aims to Bring Back Tourists to Typhoon-Hit Kansai

September 18, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Tourism Agency said Tuesday that it will start a project to bring back foreign tourists to the Kansai western Japan region, which was damaged by a violent typhoon earlier this month.

The public and private sectors will work hand in hand with the aim of restoring the number of foreign visitors to the region, following the negative impact on international flights at Kansai International Airport after it was battered by Typhoon Jebi.

In line with the full-scale reopening of the airport's Terminal 1 around Friday, the agency, as part of the project, will call on airlines to restart their regular international flight services at the airport as quickly as possible.

It will also ask tourist facilities and hotels in the region to hand out discount coupons.

The project will be held over the course of a month, to synchronize with long holiday periods in South Korea and in China.

Of the 28.69 million foreigner visitors to Japan in 2017, 7.16 million entered the country via the airport in Osaka Prefecture, according to the agency.

Some 170 international round-trip flights were available at the airport prior to the strike of the 21st typhoon of the year. Currently, the number has decreased to around 70. Jiji Press