As Japan’s border fully opens to foreign visitors on Tuesday, so too does a national travel subsidy program aimed at turbocharging the domestic tourism industry’s post-pandemic recovery.

The National Travel Discount program — which is available only to those with residency status in Japan and does not extend to overseas visitors arriving on tourist visas — uses government subsidies to fund discounts on meals, shopping and accommodation worth up to ¥11,000 ($77) per traveler per day.

“We hope that by making full use of the National Travel Discount program, people will be able to enjoy long distance trips using public transport, including on weekdays,” said tourism minister Tetsuo Saito at a news conference on Sept. 26.

From Tuesday, the discounts will be available to claim for travel expenses accrued in all prefectures except Tokyo, with local governments reserving the right to curtail the program — which is expected to run to late December — should the coronavirus situation worsen at any stage.

Discounts for Tokyo residents traveling to other prefectures will also be available from Tuesday, however the program for discounts within Tokyo will begin on Oct. 20.

The opening of the program follows the controversial Go To Travel subsidy campaign which ran from July to December 2020 before being cut short by the precipitous spread of the coronavirus that winter. Nearly 90 million took advantage of the discounts offered by the program in the five months that it was operational.

Government organizers initially planned to open the new program to the public in July, however a summer rise in daily COVID-19 cases forced a delay. The hope now is that an influx of overseas tourists keen to spend a weakened yen will combine with a surge in domestic tourists eager to make use of national discounts to help the recovery of regional economies battered by the pandemic.

Discounts of up to ¥8,000 per person per day will be available for package tours involving public transportation, while discounts of up to ¥5,000 per person per day will be available for accommodation expenses without use of public transportation.

Vouchers of up to ¥3,000 per person per day are available for food expenses on weekdays, with vouchers of ¥1,000 per person per day available for food on weekends.

To be eligible for the discount, travelers need to either be vaccinated with three shots or submit a negative PCR test. However, some prefectures may have different requirements for the number of shots needed.

Discounts can be applied for in advance via various national travel agencies:

Individual inquiries about the terms and conditions of the various discounts available should be directed to either a travel agent or to the prefectural campaign office. A list of phone numbers for these can be found here.