Travellers Now Have To Pay A Departure Tax In Japan Worth ¥1,000 (₱480)

Starting January 2019, travellers in Japan will need to pay a departure tax of ¥1,000 (₱480). It is applicable to anyone leaving Japan via aircraft or ship and can be paid when buying a ticket.

Exempted from this rule are those who purchased their tickets before 7 Jan 2019, travellers in transit within 24 hours of their entry in Japan, and children below two years old. The Japanese government plans to allot the revenue from the departure tax to further improve their tourism bases and immigration procedures such as establishing facial recognition gates, multilingual information boards, and cashless payment terminals for public transportation.

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The revenue from this tax is also estimated to hit ¥6B in 2019. This is all so that the country may secure stable financial resources to promote their tourism. There is no doubt, however, that Japan’s tourism is already booming with over 30 million visitors in 2018. The country is aiming to reach 40 million foreign visitors in 2020 in time for the Olympics and Paralympics which the city of Tokyo will be hosting.

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News sourced from NHK World — Japan.