The government’s Go To Travel campaign prompted plenty of skepticism ahead of its debut in July. Understandably so — new cases of COVID-19 infections were back on the upswing at that time and the whole push to help support the country’s ailing tourism industry felt far too early. Initial results appeared to reflect people’s trepidation, with domestic tourists choosing by and large to refrain from traveling.
While the program arguably hasn’t justified its ¥1.35 trillion budget, a look online suggests that attitudes toward the Go To Travel campaign — along with the recently launched Go To Eat effort — are shifting. Tokyo was finally included in the initiative from October and a growing number of people now appear to be taking advantage of it, with travel websites such as Rakuten and Jalan reporting that they were running out of slots.
Perhaps people are simply tired of staying home or maybe they’ve realized that this is their best opportunity to travel around Japan before a new wave of tourists inevitably return to clog the most popular destinations. Whatever the reason, the campaigns have gone from something that started online as moral panic (complete with man-on-the-street interviews courtesy of Asian Boss) to something people are interested in documenting... and, in some cases, use to their advantage.