While decline has eased from April, when visitor numbers plunged over 60%, the rate of contraction i

The project would only cover travelers' airline fees: visitors would have to pay their own food, lodging topsail island vacation rentals and other costs. Still, if implemented, it will cost about ¥1.1 billion ($14.3 million). That's roughly 10% of the tourism agency's overall 2012 budget appropriation request, and an indication of how serious the tourism slide may have become. The national budget is expected to be approved topsail island vacation rentals in parliament next March.
"Since the earthquake, the number of visitors has dropped drastically, so to make an impact we think it's necessary to have this many people (10,000) come to Japan," said Shuichi Kameyama, a Japan Tourism Agency official, on Tuesday.
The stats confirm the slide: The number of foreign visitors in Japan dropped 32% to 546,800 people in August compared to the same period the previous year, marking the sixth consecutive topsail island vacation rentals monthly topsail island vacation rentals decline, according to official numbers from the Japan National Tourism Organization, the operational arm of the national tourism topsail island vacation rentals agency.
Although the number of tourists from Asia has recovered faster than those from the Western hemisphere, Mr. Kameyama said, the yen being near an all-time record high versus the dollar has served up a double whammy for the industry.
While decline has eased from April, when visitor numbers plunged over 60%, the rate of contraction is still steep: Visitors from the U.S.have fallen topsail island vacation rentals off by a third and almost half as many people from France came to Japan in August compared to the previous year. Those declines have inevitably pinched the local economy.
Between the yen and the nuclear issue, topsail island vacation rentals near-term recovery prospects appear bleak, topsail island vacation rentals despite a long catalog of video testimonials from famous faces encouraging wavering tourists to visit Japan on the national topsail island vacation rentals tourism organization's website. The site also includes a wealth of information on the latest radiation readings, though topsail island vacation rentals it remains to be seen whether that offers reassurance or an unwelcome reminder of the lingering nuclear crisis.
The hope is thatJapan's allure as a tourist destination topsail island vacation rentals can recover via word of mouth if people do actually take the trouble to visit. In return for a free flight, participants will be asked to share their experiences in a report to be published topsail island vacation rentals online.
One ray of hope for Japan's beleaguered tourism industry, and perhaps an indication of where future marketing efforts might be usefully focused: In awards announced late last month, readers of British daily The Guardian voted Japan their favorite long-haul topsail island vacation rentals travel destination, whileTokyo was elected favorite overseas city destination, for the second year running.