As some regions have fewer cases of Covid-19, prefectural governments have set out to give their residents a small travel allowance to boost local economies. Though the nationwide Go To Travel campaign – which has been suspended since December last year – won’t resume until after June 2021, the national government has agreed to fund some prefectures in subsidising domestic tourism.
Allowances of up to ¥7,000 per person per night will be distributed to those planning staycations starting April 1. Within that budget, a maximum of ¥5,000 can be used to get a discounted rate on accommodation whereas the remaining ¥2,000 can be put towards meals or shopping.
This subsidy scheme will only apply to prefectures where coronavirus cases are deemed low enough, and the discounts cannot be used for trips outside your own prefecture. The government is still considering exactly which prefectures to include in the new programme, and more details will be announced soon.
According to NHK, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Kazuyoshi Akaba said that this initiative will run until the end of May, whereby the government will consider restarting the nationwide Go To Travel campaign. If the government decides against restarting the Go To Travel campaign at that time, it will continue to fund this newly proposed ¥7,000 subsidy scheme until Go To Travel is resumed.
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