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Tour to Japan Officially OK
After several years of effort, Japan has eventually become the eighth foreign tourist destination for Chinese tourists following Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.
It was confirmed when Japan signed the Approved Destination Status Agreement with China in Tokyo on June 20.
According to the agreement, travellers from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong can be approved at present to go through the formalities for visiting Japan through several travel services, including China International Travel Service (CITS), China Travel Service and China Youth Travel Service.
"It is an important event in the exchange between the two countries' tourism industry, and will further promote the mutual understanding and friendship between the people of the two countries," said a spokesman for China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
Negotiations about the agreement began as early as 1996. The Japanese Government handed its application over to its Chinese partner to become a tourism destination for Chinese travellers in January 1998. In December of the same year, China approved the application.
However, the negotiation in detail lasted more than two years because of some technical and operational problems.
Tourist arrivals from China to foreign countries have been increasing considerably since 1990.
But some people in China's tourism industry are not optimistic about the new tourist market.
"In the short-term, Chinese tourists will not show great interests in the new destination as it is too expensive to travel in Japan," said Wang Yanguang, manager of the Outbound Department of the CITS.
It will cost about 20,000 yuan ($2,409) for a Chinese tourist to travel in Japan for only one week. A Chinese tourist can use the same amount to travel to several countries in Europe for 10 days, according to Wang.
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