A central government campaign to spur domestic tourism has drawn both enthusiasm and ire, with some social media users telling urbanites to stay away from rural areas after COVID-19 cases hit a record high in Tokyo.
The government aims to subsidize as much as half of eligible domestic travel costs through discounts and coupons during its Go To Travel campaign starting July 22 ahead of a four-day weekend. Tourism minister Kazuyoshi Akaba announced Friday that the campaign would be moved forward from August, adding that the government is aware that "despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis, people have passionate expectations for travel.”
Despite the government’s push, "please don’t come here” was a common theme in tweets from those outside the capital. Others questioned whether official assurances that the health system still has room to handle new cases would still apply if infections spread outside major cities.