Quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture to offer travel discounts

KUMAMOTO – Kumamoto Prefecture will launch a travel discount campaign on Tuesday to stimulate tourism demand following a powerful earthquake that struck the prefecture in July, Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura said Friday.

The discounts will apply to overnight stays in Kumamoto between Oct. 1 and Dec. 25.

“We want many people to visit Kumamoto,” Kimura said at a news conference, adding, “That will strongly support the recovery and reconstruction of the affected areas.”

The program will provide discounts of up to 60% on eligible travel packages.

For packages that include transportation fees, the maximum discount is ¥20,000 ($130) for one-night stays and ¥30,000 for stays of two nights or more.

For accommodation-only products, the maximum discount is ¥20,000, regardless of the length of stay. Tours that include both Kumamoto and other prefectures in the Kyushu region are eligible for discounts of up to ¥35,000.

About 190,000 people had canceled accommodation bookings in Kumamoto as of Aug. 21 due to the earthquake, resulting in losses of about ¥2.7 billion, according to the prefectural government.

Kimura expressed hope that the discount campaign will help generate 300,000 overnight stays.