{"id":12277,"date":"2020-11-11T10:00:44","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/jp\/?p=12277"},"modified":"2020-11-11T11:34:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T02:34:45","slug":"what-is-go-to-travel-campaign-japan-how-to-apply-and-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat.metroresidences.com\/jp\/en\/japan\/go-to-travel-campaign-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Go To travel campaign Japan? How to apply and use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Coronavirus pandemic has left industries all over the world gasping in its wake– especially the tourism industry. In Japan, April of 2020 saw the lowest number of international tourists since 1964. While things are reopening, Japan\u2019s vulnerable status as a highly desirable tourist destination leaves the entire country at risk.<\/p>\n

As the government sought to fix this problem by banning international visitor entry, on July 22 they created the Go To Travel Campaign.<\/p>\n

Japan has many small towns and rural destinations that are often cost-prohibitive to reach; the Go To Travel Campaign aims to change that through domestic travel. However, there have been several snafus and difficulties with the rollout of this campaign, so we thought we\u2019d do our part to clear it up.<\/p>\n

What is Go To Travel Campaign Japan?<\/h2>\n
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Photo by Benjamin Wong on Unsplash<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

This campaign is a government-subsidized program reducing the cost of domestic travel. Unlike other foreigner-based programs, this covers any nationality as long as you are currently based in Japan.<\/p>\n

This subsidy uses both vouchers and discount booking deals to give you as much as 50% off your travel costs (depending on the price).<\/p>\n

The Go To Travel campaign is expected to end on 31 January 2021<\/strong><\/span>. However, it’s possible it could extend the period.<\/p>\n

Go To Travel Campaign Japan: How to Apply<\/h2>\n

This is where it can get a little confusing. First, you must use an accommodation\/ travel agency\/ booking agent that is a participant in the program. This isn\u2019t difficult– there are a large number of travel agencies all over Japan participating, especially in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

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50% off your travel costs<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Using a participating agent, your booking will have a 35% discount<\/strong> that the travel agent will secure for you. While you can use Booking.com as well (for all English), smaller agencies are better both to give back to the economy and better, quicker service! In addition, airfare and transportation are only included if agent books for you.<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve booked the trip itself, you will receive 15% of your travel expenses in additional coupons<\/strong> (making the full 50%). The coupons will be issued either electronically via your travel agent, or at your accommodation upon your arrival. They\u2019re not just like cash, however– they can only be used at participating locations.<\/p>\n

Go To Travel Campaign: How to Use Coupons<\/h2>\n
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Go To Travel Official Website<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

These coupons can be used to pay certain retailers, restaurants, and tourist attractions or activities.<\/p>\n

You can use the Go To Travel Website to find businesses by region and category, and while the official website is entirely in Japanese, a Google translate extension<\/a> will make it fully functional (if a bit grammatically incorrect).<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re at the location, simply use it as cash to pay for the service you\u2019ve received.<\/p>\n

Be warned: You cannot receive any change from the vouchers, but you can combine it with cash to cover your bill. For example, if you buy 11,000 yen worth of souvenirs, you could use vouchers worth 12,000 yen and lose the extra 1,000, or you could use 10,000 worth of vouchers and pay 1,000 yen in cash so the next voucher can be used fully.<\/p>\n

Go To Travel Campaign: Max Limits<\/h2>\n

Of course, the question on all our minds: how much can I get? The benefits are for each person, and are divided into two categories.<\/p>\n