MARKET FOR JAPAN TOURISM SHOWS SIGNS OF REVIVING

Soon after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lowered its travel alert for Tokyo, travel agencies have started to offer special deals on tour packages to the city, some of which were fully booked soon. Domestic travel agencies are optimistic regarding the recovery, and believe that the Japanese tourism business should return to normal by June.

The two Tokyo travel packages at 9,999 NT dollars were soon fully booked within an hour, after the travel agency started receiving bookings at 8am through the Internet and phone calls.

According to travel agency, though electricity rationing is still being enforced in Tokyo and many hotels in Japan are reserved to shelter local evacuees, many people are still willing to visit Tokyo.

Right after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lowered the travel alert for Tokyo, travel agencies offered travel packages to Tokyo at low cost, in an effort to revive the market.

Some airlines are also offering 2,000-NT-dollar discounts on tickets to Kansai area, which was not affected by tsunami or earthquake.

The promotional deals are expected to last till the end of May.

Those in the travel sector are expecting the Japanese tour market to return to normal levels by June while expecting better performance than the same period last year.

Travel agency union pointed out that, prices of tour packages to Japan should slowly return to normal by June, and people who are looking for a good travel deal to Japan should arrange their trips before then.

However, tourists should still find out if there're additional charges, or low quality hotels before signing the contract, to make sure you're getting what you pay for.

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