Breaking News

Coronavirus live news: Trump calls catching Covid ‘blessing in disguise’; Brazil cases pass 5m | World news


Just a year ago it seemed the people of Kyoto had finally had enough of the hordes of foreign tourists clogging up popular sightseeing spots and harassing maiko and geiko – the ancient capital’s traditional entertainers.

Businesses in the Gion district went as far as putting up signs telling visitors in no uncertain terms to stop pursuing the women and demanding impromptu photo sessions as they walked, decked out in expensive kimono, to evening appointments at tea houses.

Tourists taking photos in the Gion district last year.

Tourists taking photos in the Gion district last year. Photograph: Tuul and Bruno Morandi/Alamy Stock Photo

The signs, in Japanese, English and Chinese, also warned tourists not to take photographs on private property, threatening shutter-happy visitors with fines of up to ¥10,000 (£72).

But with foreign tourism now at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, the local council has had a change of heart, deciding that the warnings were a little too hostile.

A sign warning tourists not to photograph on private streets in Gion.

A sign warning tourists not to photograph on private streets in Gion. Photograph: Dai Kurokawa/EPA

Last month the old signs came down, to be replaced by new, gentler versions that simply ask people not to block streets or touch private property as they search for the perfect Kyoto selfie. The threat of a fine has been dropped.

Inbound tourism, an important source of revenue in Japan, has ground to a halt since the government imposed travel bans on overseas visitors in an attempt to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

A report by the Resona Research Institute says the fall in revenue associated with inbound tourism will amount to just over ¥4tn by the end of the year, a fraction of the ¥28tn yen spent on travel in Japan in 2019.

Kyoto has been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, with major hotels in the city operating at just a fifth of capacity in July, although there has been an uptick in domestic travelers taking advantage of the government’s controversial Go To tourism campaign.

The council, though, has warned that the more forbidding signs could reappear if, post-pandemic, the area is again inundated with tourists who still haven’t discovered their manners.

“I hope the quiet, calm atmosphere typical of Gion will be maintained even after longtime customers return following the coronavirus pandemic,” the council’s head, Mimiko Takayasu, told the Asahi newspaper.



Shared From Source link Breaking News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *