The earthquake, tsunami, aftershocks and nuclear leakages have hit Japan, yet other countries are feeling the effects of these problems as Japanese tourists have, for obvious reasons, stopped traveling elsewhere or have been forced to cancel trips.
Naturally, business matters cannot be compared to the horrors of recent events on the east coast of Japan, where thousands have died and many others have either lost loved ones or their homes. However, some countries are beginning to suffer financially due to the lack of Japanese tourists. Some countries are set to lose millions; mainly because of the fact that Japan is the third largest economy on the planet.
Australia has traditionally been a popular country for Japanese tourists to visit and just when Queensland has started to recover from massive floods, further devastation is set to occur due to the lack of Japanese tourists and their pockets filled with Yen. Last year, Japanese tourists were the fifth most popular in Australia, with their numbers having grown by 12%.
On a similar note, Taiwan tourism industry is set to lose a large amount of money as Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau estimated a 20% decline in Japanese visitors for the following quarter. India has also been hit hard with a number of travel agencies having had to cancel trips and tickets due to the disasters. The problem in India has been exacerbated by the fact that most Japanese tourists in India have traditionally visited outside the summer months for Buddhist activities, making them important winter tourists. Vietnam is also set to suffer as 450,000 people from Japan arrived in 2010. The figure is certain to drop rapidly this year.