Government to implement "Hokuriku Support Discount" from March – Unified conditions in 4 prefectures of Ishikawa, Fukui, Toyama, and Niigata

On January 25, 2024, the government officially announced the implementation of the "Hokuriku Support Discount" for tourism recovery as a support package for victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

The Hokuriku Support Discount is available in Hokuriku in Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures, excluding the Noto area. 4 It is carried out with the aim of reviving the tourism industry in the prefecture. In this measure, GW Before ( 3 ～ 4 Month), under the same conditions for tourists staying in the target area, 1 Maximum per night 2 10,000 yen (subsidy rate) 50% Discounts will be offered. In addition, the Noto area will be up to 7 Discounted travel assistance is planned.

When the editorial department asked the Ishikawa Prefecture Tourism Division about the current tourism situation and the Hokuriku Support Discount, they said, "Some of the accommodation facilities in Kanazawa are crowded with evacuees and supporters (although there is a decrease in tourists due to reputational damage). In addition, the Fukui Prefecture Tourism Promotion Division said, "Tourism in the prefecture is as usual, but bus tours connecting Ishikawa and Fukui have been canceled. Hokuriku Support Discount 3 We would like to use the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Tsuruga in January as an opportunity to promote tourism."

On the Internet, while there are comments such as "I want to support by traveling" and "I want to go out to eat sushi," there are also pros and cons such as "the disaster-stricken area is not a tourist area" and "we should concentrate on direct support for the disaster-stricken area."

The Hokuriku Support Discount covers a wide range of areas from Niigata Prefecture to Fukui Prefecture, and includes areas that have not been affected by the earthquake. When I asked the Japan Tourism Agency whether the unifying conditions were decided after scrutinizing the region, they explained, "In order to smoothly implement the system, it became a uniform condition for all prefectures."

Postscript (1/26): On the evening of January 26, the day after the announcement, we interviewed the relevant local governments. Currently, there is no notification from the government, so there is nothing (timing, discount rate, etc.) about the Hokuriku support discount. The government's announcements over the past few days may have been aimed at appealing to the public for discounted travel and gaining their support, rather than targeting the disaster-stricken areas.